Soulforged
by xT-Zealot
Summary: When Myrtenaster is destroyed, Weiss is in need of a replacement. Fortunately for her, this is where having a weapon-obsessed leader comes in handy as Ruby takes on the solemn duty of educating Weiss in the art of forging and what it means for a Huntress to have a proper weapon. -Completed-
1. Breaking

**Author's Note: **_Oh gawd, actual freedom and breaks from the brain-eroding world of holiday retail!_

**Brain: **If I ever hear one more remix of _Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer _from now until next year it's gonna be WAY too soon!

_So woohoo! I'm finally allowed to breathe now that the holidays are over! Course, all that breathing room is being sucked up by my latest writing idea! With all the fun I've been having on the Bumblebee side-_

**Brain: **Too much fun…

_-I've decided to take a break from it and refocus on the other half of Team RWBY! Unfortunately, there won't be true, romantic, White Rose pairing for this fic idea._

**Brain: **We're gonna try to do smart, creative stuff with friendship White Rose.

_Keyword being 'try'. And, if there are those wondering about my choice of title, I will confirm that, yes, you can consider this as a little side-story in my _Soulbound _AU. For those who haven't read it, obviously, being the writer, I suggest reading it as apparently a lot of people seem to like it. For those who don't want to – specifically, those who don't want to read through 250,000 words -, all you really need to know is that _Soulbound _is my own fan-novelization of Volume 1 except I added and expanded a lot and…changed a few things. Mainly, I changed the end of Volume 1 where Ruby ends up getting more seriously injured by Torchwick due to her Aura being weakened beforehand and Weiss saves her life by doing a concept I introduced called 'Aura bonding', where two Hunters can form a bond with each other by binding Auras. Another author who has implemented the concept of bonding is sangheilitat117 in his fabulous White Rose story _Can You Feel My Heart._ It's pretty much the same thing and, for those who want their White Rose fix, I would go and take a gander at it._

_That's really all you need to know and even then I'll mostly be referring to those events in this chapter with the rest of the fic – three chapters total, I predict – being used to explore and try my hand at some fan-lore building, specifically when it comes to Huntsmen and Huntresses and their weapons. This was something I briefly mentioned in _The Stray _and didn't really intend to make a whole fic out of it but my friend Kenju convinced me that I should give it a shot and…_

**Brain: **And then I happened!

_Yes, yes you did…_

* * *

><p>"Now, who wishes to challenge Miss Valkyrie to the last match of the day?"<p>

_Oh oh oh! Me! Pick me! Pleeeaaassse!_

"Anyone?"

_ Yeah, right here! Come on! Right here!_

"Shall I do a random selection, then?"

_There's no need for that because I'm right here! I've been stuck for a week without combat practice with no one even wanting to spar with me or take me out on Grimm hunts. I've had nothing but stupid textbooks and boring tests, and I really really really need to hit something right now!_

Ruby attempted to convey all of that with the single hand that she madly waved in the air in order to get the steely gaze of one Glynda Goodwitch to actually land and stay on her instead of casually moving on as if she hadn't seen her. Ruby knew better; after several days of this, there was no way that their combat instructor hadn't noticed her flailing limbs.

It had been over a week since that night at the docks where Ruby had been wounded by Torchwick, leading to a three-day stay in the hospital before awakening and being allowed to return to Beacon...with some restrictions that were meant to do nothing more than to make Ruby as miserable as possible. To be more precise, the one that declared that there would be no combat training or anything else of such nature for that full week that would be needed until she made a complete recovery. Apart from denying her of sweets in that timeframe, combat training was the worst thing that could be taken from her and, to make it worse, in its place was the schoolwork that she needed to catch up on when she had been incapacitated.

Begging her teammates to overlook it had been met with little results and even going to their friends in JNPR or the other first-years had been a wasted effort. Considering the nervous looks and tentative refusals, Ruby had to guess that Yang or one of her other subordinates - maybe even all of them - had spread the message around to the other students to not get roped into any sparring, hunting, or other activities of that nature with the young leader of RWBY. More than likely that message was enforced with the threat of severe punishment.

But her term was up and she couldn't ask for a better setup. Nora was standing next to Goodwitch at the arena floor, Magnhild resting across her shoulders. The hammer-wielder was similarly scanning the crowds although, in contrast to their professor, Nora had a wide grin on her face as if she couldn't wait to put her weapon to use against anyone who may wish to contend with her.

Eventually going to Ruby, Nora mimicked the enthusiastic wave with one of her own, easily keeping Magnhild in place with one hand. It was that exchange that seemed to convince Goodwitch of the inevitable, the bespectacled woman looking between her two students before sighing.

_Yes!_ Ruby silently cheered, noting the signs of defeat.

Just as Goodwitch was about to announce the matchup, however, there was movement at Ruby's peripheral that not only drew her attention but their professor's as well. "Ah, Miss Schnee, how nice of you to volunteer." Louder, Goodwitch declared, "The final match of the day shall be between Weiss Schnee and Nora Valkyrie!"

At first, all Ruby was able to do was let her hand drop limply back to her side, unable to believe what had just happened, and then she was whirling around to direct a half-pout, half-glare at her white-haired partner. Being an heiress to a multi-billion lien company, it was a simple matter for Weiss to keep her face completely straight as she rose to her feet, Myrtenaster at her side. Just as she was about to descend to the arena floor, Weiss deigned to give Ruby a glance and a quirked brow, the look practically saying, "This is for your own good."

Ruby's pout-glare followed Weiss as she went down the bleachers but her back remained turned to her leader the whole time. With a sigh, Ruby dropped her cheeks into the palms of her hands, elbows balancing on her knees as she resigned herself to another miserable, combat-free day.

Yeah, she had been getting a lot of that with her team practically babying her during her recovery. Carrying her books around for her, refusing to let her climb up and down her bunk without assistance, and even getting and delivering her meals to her. While Ruby didn't mind it at first, mostly due to her teammates getting along for the sake of her health even after the whole White Fang revelation concerning their now-known faunus teammate Blake, it had gotten to ridiculous levels pretty fast. And, as was plainly seen, the pity party was open to their professors, even the normally high-strung Goodwitch.

_It was only one dizzy spell, _Ruby thought, remembering her near-collapse shortly after returning to Beacon. It hadn't repeated at all during the rest of the week but that didn't seem to be giving her any extra points.

Sighing once more, Ruby tried to at least psyche herself up to enjoy viewing the upcoming match. Down below, Weiss was taking her position on one side of the arena, a hand lying on her rapier's hilt. Across from her, Nora, looking as excited as ever, was brandishing the heavy head of her hammer Magnhild. The overhead monitor winked to life, displaying the portraits of the two girls. Next to each was a green bar: a visible indicator of their Aura levels.

Their matches typically followed tournament-style rules: the first person to have their Aura levels drop to the red would lose. While the matches themselves can hold variety - one-on-one, two-on-two, team-on-team, or even one-on-team coupled with time limits - that rule remained in place no matter what as a safety measure for, if a person's Aura levels were depleted, the following damage that would usually be blocked by it would instead be inflicted directly on the combatant's body, resulting in serious injury - something that Ruby had firsthand experience with.

Weiss had fully cleared Myrtenaster from her sash when a countdown began on the monitor, starting from five and ticking down with a beep following each passing second. She slowly spread her legs, dropping into her typical stance, while Nora held her weapon with the heavy head low and back. Upon the chiming of the bell, Weiss struck first, starting the match with her opening thrust as she sped across the floor towards Nora, the slim blade and sharpened tip aimed right at her chest.

Nora responded but not in a way that was typical of someone wielding such a weapon. Instead of swinging, she shifted her grip, hands sliding towards Magnhild's head, and she actually used the long shaft to knock Weiss's rapier off course, forcing the heiress to speed on by her.

Ruby straightened in her seat, admittedly intrigued by the opening move. Although Nora used such a large hammer, she tended to wield it with more finesse than other students who used weapons similar to her own, specifically Cardin Winchester. The leader of CRDL liked to make full use of his strength and heavy mace with wide, powerful swings that could be quite devastating if they ever landed. It was a fitting weapon against the monstrous Grimm but against fellow students who were smaller and faster, his opponents found his attacks slow, clumsy, and, worst of all, predictable.

Nora unveiled the difference in their fighting styles by turning to follow after Weiss, shifting back to her usual grip to swing Magnhild towards her opponent. Weiss ducked and spun away with her acrobatic grace but Nora followed after her, using the momentum in her swing to bring Magnhild spinning around over her head as she advanced, lashing out with both shaft and head.

Weiss had turned back to face her at this point and Myrtenaster responded to the whirlwind of blows by parrying and deflecting Magnhild, shifting the attacks away from her. The slim rapier stood no chance of blocking the blows outright and Nora used that to her advantage to continue spinning and striking with her weapon, forcing Weiss to begin taking steps back. In the end, the heiress went to her Dust, a glyph appearing in front of her to take and hold against a solid blow. The break in her attacks caused Nora to stumble and Weiss used the opening to streak in with another thrust that connected and knocked Nora away.

Ruby glanced up at the monitor, watching as the bar next to Nora's portrait dropped but remained in the green even against an attack like that. Being able to protect the user against blades, bullets, claws, fangs, and what have you, Aura was as strong as the user's will and the physical and mental training that came with combat schools shaped it into a powerful barrier that won't be broken through easily. With two fresh combatants, it wasn't uncommon for these kinds of duels to drag on.

_KA-BOOM!_

"Miss Valkyrie, if you could refrain from excessive collateral damage!" Goodwitch ordered over the deafening noise of another detonation.

"Okay!" Nora responded even as she was firing off another grenade, now carrying Magnhild in its grenade launcher mode.

The pink projectile - complete with a painted heart-shaped design - slammed against Weiss's barrier, a crater having already been blasted at either side of the heiress. Technically there were no rules against using such attacks, Glynda's voice of protest mostly to limit the damage to the arena that she would have to clean up later. That and the debris that pelted some of the students who had unwisely chosen to sit at the front rows of the bleachers.

Weiss stabbed her blade into the floor, a Burn Dust cartridge glowing brightly within Myrtenaster's cylinder, and a line of flame shot out towards Nora before splitting and forming a circle to trap her. When Weiss drew her weapon close, the red glow of the fire-based Dust dimmed as the cylinder spun and, in its place, a yellow one lit up as she gestured with her fingers. It was only because of Ruby's position higher up in the bleachers that she saw another of Weiss's glyphs appear, this time beneath Nora's feet and possessing the same color as the Electric Dust instead of the regular white.

Despite the close proximity of the fiery circle and the heat it gave off, Nora saw the glyph as well and chose to daringly barrel on through the flames in order to save herself from the tendrils of lightning that leapt up from the glyph and charged the air with electricity instead of their intended target. Magnhild transforming back to hammer form, Nora lunged towards Weiss to slam it down towards her, the fencer twirling away in response.

Ruby took the moment to look to the monitor again. Although Weiss hadn't taken any damage, her Aura level had dropped negligibly. Taking damage wasn't the only way weaken Aura. Exhaustion and any other physical strain could do the job but then there was the kind of strain that came with using Aura to perform attacks, usually by using it to control and manipulate the power of Dust. And, out of all four members of RWBY, it was Weiss who's stamina was the weakest due to her mixed training of both swordsmanship and Dust control. Her style of fighting was meant to compensate by using Nature's Wrath to overwhelm or at least distract her opponent so that she can finish them off with Myrtenaster, fencing being an art that relied on swift and accurate strikes so that no strength would be wasted with unnecessary movement.

Thus, opponents most suited to counter her were those who possessed the necessary fortitude to either weather through her attacks or were agile enough to avoid them. Unfortunately, Nora had a little bit of both; able to stand against the lighter strikes of Myrtenaster while making sure to watch out for her Dust spells. Even as Weiss maneuvered around her, Nora used the position of Magnhild currently embedded in the floor to fire off a grenade from the head and riding the resulting explosion to hurl herself towards Weiss, shouting a cheerful and energetic, "Tag!"

Weiss couldn't avoid that one and was forced to once again turn to her glyphs, kneeling down and conjuring one above her to take the full force of the descending weapon. In response, another bit of her 'Aura bar' was shaved off.

The intensity of the fight had Ruby at the edge of her seat as she watched, Weiss attempting to put distance between her and Nora but the girl pursued persistently. It made her wish that she was down there and taking on Nora instead, Crescent Rose and Magnhild crossing each other again and again while their recoils served to send their owners into the next meeting of hammer and scythe.

_Uuuugh, this sucks!_ she complained mentally while her feet kicked out visibly in frustration, earning her a couple looks from nearby students but she hardly cared. _When classes are over, _someone _is going to duel me later! Maybe a second or third-year. Maybe even a fourth!_ _I don't care if I get my butt kicked! _She knew there were plenty of students out there, even the more senior ones, who were still curious about the young Huntress-in-training who had been accepted early by Ozpin. That curiosity could be satisfied with a match even if she was a freshman, especially if she tempted them.

It was when Ruby returned her attention to the duel with another one of her pouts on her face that something occurred to her. Up on the monitor, Weiss's Aura bar drifted into the yellow zone and Ruby found herself staring at it longer than what should be necessary.

_Maybe I can participate after all… _A grin dabbled in mischief slinked its way onto Ruby's face. She straightened in her seat, stilling her movements, and closed her eyes.

And deep inside, she focused on Weiss. Not the Weiss who was down there in the arena but that part of her that the heiress had left to Ruby that night at the docks. That part that, when Ruby's heart had stopped, had been placed within in order to start it back up.

The whole concept of "bonds" – of two Hunters binding their Auras together – had fascinated Ruby ever since Blake had informed them about it after their initiation. It seemed like something taken straight out of those fairy tales yet it was a scene from such a fable that ended up playing out in reality when Weiss had done it in order to save Ruby's life when she had been mortally wounded by Torchwick. Ruby also remembered the benefits of a bonded pair and, for this instance, it was the one that involved being able to transfer one's Aura to another.

Blake had mentioned that that and some of the other benefits took time. When a bond was formed, it would be strengthened with the experience of both parties and would allow them to be more attuned to each other to accomplish things like sharing Aura efficiently or establishing some form of near-telepathy that let Hunters fight better with each other.

"But," Blake had mentioned a few days before, having chosen to sit down and answer some of Ruby's questions about the subject to keep her leader distracted from her lack of combat exercises, "there are exceptions. Weiss bonded to you in order to save your life. A bond created during such an extreme situation, while dangerous, can have its advantages. For example, Weiss had been driven to give as much of her Aura to you as possible and your survival instincts had kicked in to make it all but natural for you to take what you could in order to live. As a result, transferring Aura can come easier to the two of you even with a fresh bond."

Ruby had been at death's door when that occurred so she couldn't remember what it had been like when Weiss had given her Aura to her. So she just began with what she knew: taking a steadying breath before drawing out her Aura, a red outline briefly flashing around her body to indicate its activation and then fading. Although Ruby wasn't a Huntress who fought with spells powered by Dust, she still knew how to manipulate her Aura and use it for things other than a shield. She could focus her Aura through Crescent Rose or other items to charge them with it so she chose to do the same thing except directing her Aura inwards, towards that part of her that was Weiss.

At first she didn't think she was doing it right, feeling nothing. She tried to imagine the bond as an invisible line connecting her and Weiss, from that part that was within her heart to the part that she had left inside Weiss to create it. Through that line she attempted to imagine her Aura flowing from one point to the other.

Weiss suddenly jerked and that was when Ruby knew she was doing it right. With each breath she took she drew up the picture in her mind of gathering her Aura within her center, and when she exhaled and her breath came out through her mouth, she imagined her Aura taking a different route, exiting through that space in her heart that was Weiss, traveling through that invisible line, and reaching the other end within Weiss that was Ruby.

The distraction nearly did Weiss in as Nora charged with Magnhild swinging. She formed another glyph and both the barrier and herself stood firm against the impact. Her Aura bar similarly held out, not dropping. Ruby opened her eyes and it was to see Weiss looking up at her. It only lasted a second but it was enough for Ruby to see the clear look of disapproval that was sent her way before her partner refocused on her duel with Nora.

_This was supposed to be my duel in the first place! _Ruby silently responded, smiling impishly as Weiss resumed fighting.

Despite how Weiss reacted, it didn't take long before she accepted Ruby's help. There came murmurs all around Ruby from the other students, whether they were comments made about the fight or how Weiss's Aura bar refused to drop into the red zone. Ruby even caught a reaction from Goodwitch, the professor looking up at the overhead monitor and then consulting her scroll, tapping on the device and, if Ruby had to guess, resetting the display to make sure that nothing had gone wrong.

Meanwhile, the two combatants battled on. Waving Myrtenaster more like a wand than a rapier, blue, miniature versions of her emblem were conjured up around Weiss. Directing the tip towards Nora, one-by-one the snowflakes shot towards the fast-approaching hammer-wielder. Nora dodged one, then another, but the third snowflake she caught with Magnhild, the mystical projectile impacting and freezing the hammer's head in a block of ice.

It hardly deterred Nora as she cut the rest of the distance between them to bring Magnhild in another overhead descent. Weiss slid elegantly to the side but, while she avoided the blow, when Nora slammed Magnhild into the floor, the ice surrounding it shattered and went flying everywhere. Weiss brought her arm to her face to protect it against the frozen shards.

It was an opening that Nora took full advantage, lifting and swinging Magnhild towards the distracted heiress. Weiss didn't have the chance to dodge or form a glyph, the only thing she could do was bring Myrtenaster between her and Magnhild before the latter hit.

Ruby was up on her feet and rushing down the bleachers as soon as Weiss flew back and slammed hard into the wall beneath the spectators. A number of other students were doing the same but Ruby pushed past them in order to reach the edge and peer down at her partner.

Weiss was sitting slumped against the wall but she wasn't unconscious, already moving by the time Ruby got in position. Groaning, the heiress shook her head, raising her weapon as she prepared to stand up and continue. When Myrtenaster came into her view, Ruby gasped.

The blade to the rapier was gone. A short, jagged stub was attached to the hilt but, as for the rest of the blade, Ruby located it lying near Weiss. At first glance it seemed to be relatively intact until, upon closer inspection, Ruby could make out metal fragments that had broken off and surrounded it. In addition, fractures ran all across the blade.

Weiss was similarly staring at what she had left of Myrtenaster in her hand with shock. A blue cloud was slowly forming around the hilt – Dust, venting from cracks along the cylinder -, and the heiress immediately threw it away from her.

A stunned silence had fallen over the room. Nora had become surprisingly still and, for once, her usually cheerful expression had become wiped away completely as she looked at the scattered pieces of Myrtenaster. She actually began to look nervous, like a child who had just realized that she had just done a very bad thing.

When someone did speak, it was Goodwitch. "Miss Schnee, do you cede the match to Miss Valkyrie?"

Ruby looked to the older woman in surprise, not so much because of her cool delivery – this was probably not the first time she's seen a student's weapon destroyed - but because she was actually giving Weiss a choice as if she even had one.

_Myrtenaster is broken! _Ruby thought disbelievingly. Weiss no longer had a weapon!

But her Aura hadn't drifted into the red. It was close, the Aura bar almost down to a quarter, yet it barely remained in the yellow. And, as Ruby mentally went over the rules, she realized that there were none that involved the destruction of a participant's weapon meaning an automatic loss. If Weiss wanted, she could choose to continue.

The heiress in question slowly rose to her feet, clearly feeling the effects of that last blow but forced herself to stand straight. Then, with a raised chin, she said, "No. I'm still able to continue."

The gathered students immediately devolved into frenzied whispering but Ruby was deaf to them, her attention on Weiss. Her partner was standing tall as a model of pride and dignity that she constantly enforced. Across from her, Nora was looking between Weiss and Goodwitch uncertainly.

Ruby saw Weiss discreetly opening the pouch hanging from her sash, a hand searching amongst the contents. A moment later and she pulled an item out and Ruby recognized it as the speedloader that she made as a gift for Weiss, containing Dust cartridges that were meant to be loaded into Myrtenaster. However, they didn't have to be loaded into the weapon in order to be used, something that Weiss demonstrated when she brought the loader in front of her, thrusting it out towards Nora. There came a bright flash followed by a bolt of lightning that lanced forward and struck Nora and Ruby swore she heard the girl's surprised shout morph into a "Woooohoohoohoo!" as she sailed across the arena, leaving behind Magnhild.

A loud buzz accompanied Nora's hard landing, followed by Goodwitch's announcement of, "And that concludes the match! The winner is Weiss Schnee!"

There were no cheers or any other exclamations that bystanders would usually make at the end of such a sparring match, the quick and hushed murmurings continuing amongst the trainees. Ruby ignored them, watching Weiss who bowed towards Goodwitch. Then, with a turn of her heel, she went to the exit, pocketing her speedloader as she did so. Not once did she regard her destroyed weapon, leaving the broken and scattered remains where they lay. 

* * *

><p>Weiss was mad, something that Ruby expected long before she left the sparring arena and went outside to the courtyard where she found Weiss practically stomping in what looked like a random direction as she wasn't heading back to their dorms. Her shoulders were raised and stiff, the heels of her boots clacking against the path.<p>

_Of course she would be mad; she just lost Myrtenaster! _Ruby thought to herself as she jogged to catch up with Weiss. If anything ever happened to Crescent Rose, mad was only one of the things that Ruby would be feeling. Her scythe was her pride and joy and she had forged it with her own hands. It was with Crescent Rose that she was able to fight and initiate her dream to become a Huntress. If not for Crescent Rose, Ruby would still be back at Signal trying to find a weapon that she couldn't fight with.

If something ever happened to her scythe, mad wouldn't even begin to describe that devastating, soul-crushing experience that would follow.

So when Ruby did reach Weiss, she was caught off guard when the heiress whirled around to face her, a finger coming up to point directly to Ruby's chest as she snapped, "What was _that_?"

Ruby came to an awkward stop, blinking incredulously at Weiss. "What was what?"

"Don't give me that! You know exactly what you did!"

_What…_I _did? _Ruby wondered, still blinking as she regarded Weiss's angry face.

After waiting and being given nothing but Ruby's stumped silence and expression, Weiss elaborated, "You gave me some of your Aura during the match!"

It took a little longer until it dawned on Ruby that that was what Weiss was mad about. Even more perplexed by that, Ruby didn't try to deny the accusation as she admitted, "Yeah, I did but…"

"There's no 'buts' here!" Weiss went on, jabbing her finger painfully into Ruby. "That was a sparring match between me and Nora! I didn't need or want any of your help in what was _my_ fight!"

"But I-you-wait!" Remembering just how it was that Weiss landed a duel with Nora, Ruby drew herself up to stand against her partner's assault. "_Your_ fight? That duel was supposed to be mine and you know it! Professor Goodwitch was about to call on me but you raised your hand and stole the duel from me!"

"Of course I did!" Weiss replied, not bothering to hide it. "I was looking out for your safety like the good partner that I am! You had gotten out of the hospital and you aren't supposed to be exerting yourself, especially not with a sparring match!"

"But that was over a week ago! They said after a week I would be fine and I am! Yang let me drink all the milk I wanted this morning!"

"Drinking milk and sparring are two entirely different things, especially when it's Nora of all people! I was doing you a favor!"

"Yeah, some favor," Ruby grumbled. "That fight would've still been mine and you can't blame me for at least helping you!" A thought coming to her mind, the younger girl added, "And while that may've been a one-on-one duel, there aren't any rules that forbid me from helping you by giving you some of my Aura!"

That brought Weiss up short, silently going over the rules that she had similarly memorized. Seeing her own opening, Ruby continued, "Besides, I'm sure Nora was doing the same thing! I didn't see her Aura going down that much either towards the end!"

"…There may not be any rules against it in a regular sparring match but I'm sure there would be something in place for a real tournament," Weiss rebuked. "Anyway, that's not the point! I wasn't going to let you duel Nora!"

"You're not my mom!"

"No, but I _am_ your best teammate! And being a best teammate means I can't let my leader get hurt! You saw that last blow I took! No way was I going to let you get hit by something like that!"

It was the reminder of that blow that Ruby remembered what happened and why she had come rushing out to Weiss in the first place. For as much as Weiss was yelling at her, not once had she mentioned the destruction of her weapon. The comprehension had Ruby biting back whatever comeback she was about to make next and, instead, she tried to direct Weiss with, "Speaking of what happened…Weiss, aren't you mad about Myrt-?"

"Heya, Weissy-Icy!"

Both girls turned to the speaker, Weiss already frowning as she spoke, "Nora, I told you not to call me that."

The bubbly ginger came to a stop in front of the two, the smile on her face not so much as twitching in response to Weiss's rebuttal. Next to her was her green-dressed partner Ren who had a vastly different demeanor from her own, looking particularly haggard. That gave Ruby some confusion as she remembered that Ren hadn't volunteered for any of the sparring matches for today. It soon clicked that, perhaps, Weiss really hadn't been the only one who had some Aura donated to her and Ruby shot the fencer a smug grin.

"Ruby, Weiss," Ren managed to greet politely, adding in a nod of his head to the two.

Weiss returned the nod and ignored Ruby. To Nora, she said, "That was a good match today, Nora; you fought well."

"Thanks, you really got me with that last one." Still with that grin, Nora began swiping a hand through her hair, Ruby only now noticing that several strands were sticking straight out due to the intense electrical charge that must've gone through her from Weiss's lightning spell.

"I do feel a little bad about that," Weiss admitted. "I can understand why you were distracted but I did tell Goodwitch that I was able to continue and the match hadn't officially ended yet."

"Yeah, about that…" Trailing off, Nora's smile weakened and she turned to Ren, silently asking for help.

"We wanted to talk to you about that," he said, coming to his partner's rescue. "Nora felt bad about what happened-"

"Really, _really_ bad," Nora emphasized, her gaze falling down.

"And…well." Ren's stoic expression cracked and he glanced to the downcast Nora. Then, shaking his head, he said, "After you left, Nora gathered up all the pieces that she could and asked me for help. We did what we could with what we had on hand but-"

"But look!" Beaming back up at Weiss, Nora unveiled what was in her other hand that she had been hiding behind her back the whole time.

It was Myrtenaster back in one piece…sort of. Nora managed to reattach the broken blade back to the rest of the weapon but how she had done so was with a lot of tape that had been wound several times all along the length it. Between the strips Ruby was able to locate the several fractures in the metal which had been filled in with what had to be glue that hadn't dried yet. It was also glue that vainly attempted to keep some of the smaller shards that had broken off back together but they looked ready to fall right off again any second.

"Where did you get all the tape and stuff?" Ruby asked, truly curious as to how Nora managed to do all this in such a short amount of time.

Ren threw out his arm in reply, a roll of industrial-strength tape shooting out from the long, open sleeve of his tailcoat and into the palm of his hand.

"Oh."

Next to Ruby, Weiss was staring at her somewhat fixed sword, her smile wavering as she did the best she could to keep her expression and words polite. "Why thank you, Nora, that was…really nice of you."

"Wasn't it!?" Spurned on by the praise, Nora began waving Myrtenaster around excitedly to better show off her handiwork. "It's still got some scratches and stuff here and there but that gives it character! Once the glue dries, I'm sure it'll be good and ready for whenever you want a rematch!"

It was at that moment that there came the sound of tape ripping and a metallic _clang_ ringing out when the damaged blade broke off and fell to the ground, those fragments scattering once more. Weiss stared blankly at it and then at Nora who froze where she was, looking at the bladeless hilt before quickly returning it behind her back.

"…The glue hadn't dried yet," she defended meekly.

"Don't worry about it," Weiss replied, burying her face into the palm of her hand. "It's broken and there's nothing I can do about it. Just throw it out; I can manage a replacement."

It was because Weiss couldn't see that she failed to notice the reaction that her words caused, her fellow trainees jerking to collectively stare at the heiress in surprise. When she did bother to look up, she frowned at them all. "What? I can't exactly fight with it now. I have it all under control, so don't worry about it."

With that, Weiss turned and resumed walking, leaving her friends to continue staring at her back before they regarded each other. It was Nora who asked the question that was on their minds. "Does she not…_care_ about Myrtenaster?'

"I don't think she does…" Ruby replied just as slowly. She extended a hand to Nora. "Can I see that?"

Nora silently brought Myrtenaster's hilt back into view, handing it over to Ruby. Their hands happened to brush against each other and Ruby yelped, pulling hers back when some static discharge sparked between them.

Nora had done the same but was staring at her hand in wonder. "Ooooh…" Looking to Ren, she grinned evilly and proceeded to extend her index finger towards her partner, all the while ominously uttering, "Zappity zap boop."

"Nor_-ah!_"

Ignoring the two, Ruby examined Myrtenaster, able to get a better scope of the damage. From what she could see, Nora's blow had hit low, Magnhild landing just above the cylinder. Other than managing to damage and snap off most of the blade, she had also crushed the Dust exhaust port that was meant to vent the spent Dust that was used whenever Weiss unleashed her spells. Considering that Weiss had been casting moments ago, the damage resulted in that Dust becoming trapped in the cylinder and the excess pressure had resulted in the cracks that extended all along it in order for it to be released.

Other than the hilt itself and the metal prongs, everything else was a total loss. Ruby would need to crack the rapier open in order to see if the trigger mechanism and some of the other internals had been compromised but there was no chance of any repairs being made to the cylinder and the blade was similarly out of the question.

While rare, it wasn't unheard of for a Hunter's weapon to be destroyed in battle and that went double for trainees. Like any other weapon, it could happen to a Huntsman or Huntress if they didn't take proper care of it or if an exceptionally tough battle – or a series of battles – put so much stress on it that it would lead to it breaking.

And for students starting their journey to become Hunters by forging their weapons, a lesson they may run into is what happens when their construction was faulty.

"Hm..." A thought coming to her, Ruby bent down and carefully picked up the fractured blade so that she was holding both pieces of Myrtenaster, turning them around in her hands. With her visual inspection done, Ruby chose to perform a different kind.

Like before she drew out her Aura and she enveloped Myrtenaster in it much like how she would with Crescent Rose. What she ended up finding was something different from her scythe and she meant it in more than just the different shape and weight of the rapier. It was something that had Ruby, when she was done, looking down at Myrtenaster with astonishment as understanding flooded through her.

All that she was holding was a sword. A very broken - and a very _dead_ - sword. 

* * *

><p>Weiss sat on one of the chairs, situating herself at one of the tables within Beacon's library. After tapping the power button on one of the terminals, the projector activated to produce a green holographic keyboard that appeared beneath her fingers with a screen following soon after. One-by-one, icons and other links filled it, most of them meant for students to look up and locate whatever texts they needed and were stored in the library's many shelves that filled its two floors or to access online sources.<p>

For Weiss, she was here for neither of those, something that annoyed her. Ignoring most of the icons, she tapped a finger against one that was located at the top-left most corner of the screen.

_Not exactly how I intended to spend part of my evening, _Weiss thought sourly, _but it can't be helped. I can't exactly keep studying at a combat school without a weapon to do combat with._

As she told the others, it would be a simple matter to get a replacement weapon. On the screen, a window popped up to show that she was currently being connected to the CCT network; the main method of communication for the kingdoms like Vale and what linked them all together, providing speedy and crystal-clear transmissions that could be made within the CCT tower itself or through public terminals like the one Weiss was using to connect to it.

The library had been closer and Weiss intended to make this call quick so she wouldn't need any of the other resources and benefits that were located at the tower. She just needed to contact the SDC's company headquarters in Atlas, order a new Myrtenaster to be built from the specs that she knew were saved for such a contingency, and then she would just have to wait until however long it took for her company's engineers to construct and then send her a new Myrtenaster when it was finished. Weiss wasn't privy to how long such a process took but she doubted it would take more than a few days with the resources and personnel that the Schnee Dust Company was armed with.

The wait didn't trouble her as she could use the time away from combat training to get further in her more intellectual pursuits; something that she prided herself in more. Besides, she was sure that she had proven herself enough for today in that regard as she managed to win despite the loss of her weapon.

_Except you didn't win on your own, _a voice chided her, the one that had been a part of her life growing up and being raised and trained to perfection, always demanding her to do more and always pointing out any and all flaws of her performance. Never had it ever praised her.

The thing about it in this instance though was that Weiss found it easier to ignore it. No, she didn't defeat Nora on her own in their one-on-one duel but the sense of failure wasn't hitting her with any force as it usually would. As much of an angry front she had tried to put up against Ruby, it only lasted halfway to her journey to the library. When she did think of her partner and leader now, Weiss would remember how that part of Ruby that was within her had reacted, offering the energies of the scythe-wielder's very soul to help her in her fight in a similar manner to how Weiss had done the same to save Ruby's life. That closeness that they had with each other…

A small smile crept up on Weiss's face but it took her a bit longer to notice it. It was amazing how far she and Ruby had come over the past few months: from arguing and never wanting anything to do with each other to having one save the other's life and the experience causing them to be close friends. Yes, they still argued with each other but that was something that friends did – especially when one could still be at tremendous dolt at times - and, unlike long ago, Weiss knew there was no true animosity between them. When you got right down to it, Weiss had just been worried about Ruby's health and Ruby had just wanted to help her.

_Just like always._ Weiss was broken from her musings when something else popped up on the screen and when she read it she immediately sat up in her seat and stared at it in confusion. _No connection made. What?_

The words 'Connection failed' were strewn across the screen as if to show that there was no mistake about it. Lifting a hand back up to the screen, Weiss closed the window and tried to make another connection to the CCT, only to have the same message reappear again.

_Something wrong with the wifi? _Weiss wondered, something that liked to quit on students who had important business such as Weiss at the worst possible times. She tapped against another corner of the screen, bringing up a status window.

_[No connections are available]_

Weiss cursed under her breath. Worst possible times indeed. Other than shutting down and restarting the terminal in the hopes that it would fix itself and reconnect or try another one, there wasn't much that Weiss could do other than signal for whatever tech support was usually assigned to deal with these sorts of problem. She may be intelligent but she wasn't well-versed in the inner-workings of technology nonetheless how to fix them.

Maybe she should've gone to the tower after all. One of those benefits such as direct access to the CCT network meant more reliability. The walk would've been longer and she would've had to pass through some of the security that guarded Vale's technological treasure but she'd be a lot less likely to run into any problems like these.

After a couple pointless attempts at reconnecting by restarting the terminal and switching to another one, Weiss admitted defeat as she pushed her chair back and stood up. She'll go to the tower then. Just as she turned to make her way out of the library though, something caught her eye.

There was a small box mounted on the wall, placed far enough that it would be out of the way of any students but not entirely hidden. Usually that box would be powered on, activation lights blinking along the side.

_Isn't that the router? _Weiss wondered, knowing just enough to recognize the device. She ventured over to take a look, finding that it was off and that was because the power switch had been set to it. Silently deliberating to herself, Weiss daringly lifted a finger and flicked the switch. The response came immediately, green lights blinking to life in quick succession.

Weiss returned to the terminal, starting it back up as soon as she sat down. When she brought up the status window, she found that she was online. Shrugging off the momentary delay, Weiss again tapped the icon that would establish a link to the CCT so that she can make a call to her company.

If she was lucky, her father wouldn't be in right now. Thinking about him caused Weiss's previous good feeling to wane as her lips turned down. Ever since starting at Beacon, she hadn't really been keeping in touch with him, only sending him the usual reports on her continuously good grades and other accomplishments to keep him satisfied that she was carrying the Schnee name with success. Not that they had ever really been close to begin with, barely seeing each other due to the work that was involved with his company and the issues going on with the White Fang.

Thinking about the terrorist organization brought in the thoughts of just what, exactly, Weiss had been planning concerning them and her participation at Beacon. She had given up on those particular motives for revenge, choosing to enjoy her life at Beacon and her friends, and if she wished to continue with that she needed a new weapon.

So she was more than a little annoyed when that screen made a reappearance.

_[Connection failed]_

Weiss automatically brought up the status window in reply and found that she was offline again. She didn't bother to fiddle with the terminal again, instead getting up and returning to the wall-mounted router.

It was off again, the power switch having been flipped.

Though Weiss glared at the device, she knew that it wasn't to blame. Machines don't switch themselves off like that. She scanned the area around her, trying to locate anyone nearby but the only person she could see was when she happened to catch a student up on the second floor. When she saw no one else, she silently regarded the router before switching it back on.

She marched back to the terminal, checked the status window, found that she was back online, hit the icon for the CCT-

Annnnd it was gone again.

Weiss returned to the router in a more hurried fashion in the hopes of catching what she was sure was some kind of culprit hanging around and messing with her. But, like before, she didn't see anyone; not when she speed walked to the device and not when she took the time to stop and look around. Gritting her teeth, Weiss flipped it on for the third time.

She didn't rush back to the terminal though. Her latest return trip she made purposely slow, ice blue eyes moving left-to-right.

She detected it right when she put the router out of her view: the subtle but, now that she was searching for it, barely discernable breeze that was accompanied by a similarly-quiet and short-lived rustling of cloth. Carried along that breeze was a brief but recognizable fragrance that Weiss had become far too familiar with.

_This smell… _Weiss retraced her steps and wasn't at all surprised to see that the device was flipped off. Unfortunately, another full swivel of her head didn't help her in locating this hidden menace.

So, she tried searching without her eyes. Closing them, Weiss focused deep down, right at that part of her heart that wasn't hers and…

_There._ The heiress couldn't perform this feat over long distances –not yet - but if she was in close enough proximity...

Opening her eyes, Weiss flicked the router back on. Then she turned around, pretending that there was nothing out of the ordinary as she took a step away – and then suddenly swung back around with that same foot extended.

"Gah!" The cry came from the red blur that shot by and tripped over Weiss's leg, taking the shape of a certain red-cloaked girl who faceplanted into the library floor, a shower of rose petals falling around her fallen form.

Unperturbed by the sight, Weiss leaned over Ruby, glaring down at her. "Ruby, what are you doing?"

Her partner rolled onto her back so that she could smile up sheepishly at Weiss, the gesture doing nothing to inspire mercy in the heiress or the mark that had formed at Ruby's forehead due to her fall. "Oh, hey, Weiss! Fancy meeting you here!"

"Yes, fancy meeting you here," Weiss replied sarcastically. "Right where I seem to be having connection issues with this thing here," she gestured to the router, "that keeps shutting off."

"Wow, that's super weird," Ruby remarked innocently. "Must be some kind of safety measure or something; whenever something's wrong it turns itself off. Maybe you should try again another day."

Weiss casually nodded her head but her glare remained. "Could be, could be. Or a certain _someone _who loves the color red, has super speed as her Semblance, and uses a scythe could be responsible."

"Huh, that someone sounds _a lot_ like me. I didn't think there was anyone else here who has all that-"

"That's because it is you, you dolt!" Weiss snapped. She never did develop a good amount of patience when it came to these games.

"I was just trying to help!" Ruby yelped, holding up her hands to her face in anticipation for a reprimanding smack that didn't come. Or at least not yet.

"You're helping me by sabotaging me from ordering a replacement for Myrtenaster?"

Ruby lowered her hands at that so that she could stare up at Weiss with her uniquely silver and currently wide eyes. "Then you really are just having someone else make you a new one?"

Weiss lifted her scarred brow, not understanding why this was a problem. "Of course I am. Other than Dust, my company does have some of the best engineers and smiths that money can buy, all with access to the finest resources. I can have a new Myrtenaster sent to me in a few days at most."

The only way that Weiss could probably get Ruby's eyes any wider and features more shocked would be if the heiress decided to reveal that she was also a faunus by growing scales or unveiling a pair of extra ears hidden in her ponytail. "B-but…_you're _not going to rebuild Myrtenaster?"

"Why would I do that?" Weiss questioned. "I don't know the first thing about rebuilding Myrtenaster, not that I even built her in the first place."

Ruby lurched where she lay as if she had just been shot. "You didn't even build Myrtenaster in the first place?"

"No, of course not! What made you think I ever had the capability to do such a-?"

"It all makes so much sense!" Ruby cried, interrupting her. Hands flying up to press against the sides of her head, the younger girl began rolling around on the library floor. "I thought that was the only explanation but I didn't want to believe it was true! Why have you done this to me, Weiss?"

"What are you-?"

"My own partner! This whole time and I never knew! My heart, my heart!" One hand clutched at the area of her chest in question as Ruby continued with her erratic movements. "Why has thou done this betrayal? Why haven't you told me sooner? Oh woe is you, Weiss!"

The glare had already evaporated and all Weiss could do was stare disbelievingly as Ruby rolled to and fro at her feet. She was honestly conflicted. On the one hand, it wasn't unheard of for Ruby to be responsible for creating such a scene with her doltish antics – far from it -, and it was doubly so whenever her older sister Yang was involved to encourage her. Weiss's usual response would be to immediately snap Ruby out of it or just ignore her until she figured out just how childish she was being.

On the other hand, the distress that Ruby was expressing was genuine. Overly dramatic performance aside, Weiss could tell that some of the distraught was real although she didn't know why. What was the big deal with her not building Myrtenaster? It was that lack of understanding and Ruby choosing to conduct her shenanigans in a very public library that had Weiss deciding that going about her business was the best course of action.

"Weissnowait!"

Well, she tried to. A sudden hold on her leg had Weiss tripping and nearly falling, catching herself on a nearby shelf. She immediately looked down. "Let go of me, you dunce!"

"No!" Ruby objected from the floor, arms wrapped around Weiss's limb. "You're making a mistake!"

"The only mistake I'm seeing is getting you as a partner!" Weiss exclaimed, doing her best to keep moving as she took a slow step, dragging Ruby the whole while.

"Weiss, listen to me! You can't have someone else build you another Myrtenaster!"

"Watch me!"

"You don't understand!"

With a growl of frustration, Weiss ceased walking in order to glare down at the girl. "Okay, what? _What_ don't I understand?"

Immune to her rage, Ruby met Weiss's angry gaze with a stare loaded with silent plea. "If you have someone else build you Myrtenaster, the same thing is just going to happen again because it'll be another dead weapon!"

A dead weapon? The baffling statement served to dull Weiss's irritation. "What do you mean?"

"That's what weapons that were built by someone else are called!" Ruby explained. "Weapons are supposed to be an extension of ourselves! If someone else built your weapon for you, then it was never really a part of you!"

"And you're saying that's why Myrtenaster broke?"

Ruby nodded her head quickly. "Yes!"

Weiss just continued staring down at Ruby, watching as a smile broke out on her face as she believed that the heiress was beginning to understand. Weiss was almost sorry when she flatly stated, "That's dumb. Clearly Myrtenaster was just worn out overtime or even flawed. It happens. The logical thing to do is have someone who's an expert at making weapons – something that Schnee Dust has plenty of, just so you know – and have them-"

"Nooooooo!" Ruby whined pathetically, reinitiating her death grip on Weiss.

"This is ridiculous!" Weiss tugged her leg in an attempt to free it but it quickly proved futile, forcing her to admonish, "Are you actually saying that I should rebuild Myrtenaster myself? I don't even know how to do that! I trained and studied in business and fighting, not weaponcrafting!"

"I can teach you!"

"_You_? Teach _me_?"

There came another series of hastily-delivered nods as Ruby confirmed, "Yes!"

The only thing that Weiss could do was give Ruby a look that was clearly asking if she was serious. During their entire time as partners, there was only one person who did the teaching and that was Weiss. Their beginning month was all about Weiss forcing Ruby down in a seat at their dorm or in this very library which was then followed by the older girl lecturing and quizzing the younger one to better situate her in her role as leader and one who had gotten into Beacon two years early, leaving a lot of studying that needed to be done to match up with the fighting skills that got her into the combat school.

Seeking to explain, Ruby elaborated, "It won't be that hard! Everyone at Signal had to build their own weapons and I can help you learn what we learned! It shouldn't even take that long! Myrtenaster is much simpler than Crescent Rose so it won't be anywhere near as hard helping you build her!"

Weiss gave nothing away as a silence settled and stretched between the two of them. Finally, she asked, "And how long will it take?"

"Oh, uh…" Brow furrowing in thought, Ruby slowly guessed, "A…week I wanna say. Two at most. If you have the schematics then it'll definitely be less than two weeks!"

That still sounded too long for Weiss. She did have the schematics to Myrtenaster saved to her scroll but that would be almost two weeks to build her rapier herself when she could have someone else who had her company's resources forge one in a few days. What became an immediate concern in Weiss's mind was all the time and effort that she would have to dedicate to the task and could be better used elsewhere.

The cons were definitely outweighing the pros in Weiss's mind. But, if – and this was a very big _if _– Ruby was speaking true and any Myrtenaster made not by her hands was fated to break again, then she would be finding herself back in this situation. And she didn't want to keep repeatedly calling on her father and his company to make a replacement. If she could do it herself…

"Weiss, you know me!" Ruby stressed. "I'm Ruby! The weapon dork! I wouldn't be telling you all of this if I didn't think I could help you do it!"

That was also true as Ruby's weapon obsession was well-known amongst the members of RWBY and their friends. Admittedly, Weiss had never put much stock into it, Ruby describing seeing new weapons as like meeting new people but better having had the fencer forever labeling her as a nut who just liked weapons. Maybe she should see if there was more to Ruby than that.

As if reading her mind, Ruby offered, "Can I at least show you what you were missing?"

Weiss briefly looked back to where the terminal was, a call and an order that can take only minutes tempting her to just leave – or drag – Ruby in order to make it and be done with it. When she peered back down at her leader though, it was to see watery silver eyes staring pleadingly up at her while a lip quivered beneath them.

There was only one choice Weiss could make. That didn't mean that it was the sensible one but when was it ever when it came to this dolt of hers? 

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>_I've seen one…maybe two fics where authors have decided to try and write what the forging process may be like for weapons, specifically ones for Huntsmen and Huntresses. Ruby mentioning that Signal students forge their own weapons all the way back in Volume 1 had perked my interest and I've happened to stumble across a couple forums overtime where people have debated about the feasibility of a girl like Ruby creating her own weapon – or anyone so young for that matter. Of course, quite a few of them like to throw out how things are done in the real world and tend to forget that the world of _RWBY _is one of fiction which means our characters have fictional means that can help them do things that would obviously be impossible in the real world._

_Monty and the crew have mentioned that there are plans in the future for our characters to either change or completely replace their weapons so we may get some canon information soon about how, exactly, the forging process is done. Until then, I'm totally going to have as much fun with this as I can until it's disproven. Hopefully you're all intrigued and would like to see my take on it. And, since I'm actually getting some free days, it won't take me that long to complete this fic! …Unless I decide to do something silly like play some _Star Wars: The Old Republic.

**Brain: **Why would you do that?

_Because I have a sudden, powerful urge to reinstall it, create a Jedi character, and play through Tython again!_

**Brain: **We gotta start the next chapter!

_But I wanna build my lightsaber!_

**Brain: **Ugh, fine. Maybe that'll give you the proper motivation when we do get the ball rolling next chapter…


	2. Gathering

Weiss detested Beacon's machine shops. Every time she stepped into one, she was stepping into a domain where oils, lubricants, and cleaning solvents pervaded the air. Not only did the smells offend her but she could swear that she could detect how everything felt heavier with the residue and how it was immediately clinging to her, seeing her white-themed attire as an abnormality that needed to be dirtied with one or a dozen subtle coats. For added insult to injury, this specific machine shop that Ruby led her to already had a couple students making use of the tools provided and the heiress immediately grimaced, instinctively jerking her head away upon the roaring activation of a nearby grinder.

She found the source to be a male trainee who she recognized. Other than his huge size, the close-shaven black hair, green robe, and multi-layered shoulder armor belonged to none other than Yatsuhashi; a member of CFVY and Velvet's partner. He had his broad back directed to Weiss and Ruby, the older student either not noticing or too involved in his work to greet them as he was passing the golden edge of his otherwise brown copper sword - the weapon just as ridiculously immense as he was – against the grinder. Despite his tall height and how his muscles bulged to fill his frame, the warrior was treating the process with care and precision which ended with a shower of sparks upon each touch of sword and grinder. Weiss quickened her pace in order to catch up to Ruby and put some distance between her and the offending noise.

In a relieving contrast, two girls had taken to a table and were in the midst of creating and inspecting ammo for what had to be their weapons although they weren't on hand. One, a short-haired brunette, was examining one of several rounds in her hands and Weiss assumed that the student had used the automated progressive press located at the nearby bench. Designed for the easy assembly of standard or custom cartridges, all a student had to do was insert a canister filled with the Dust or synthetic propellant they wanted to use to enhance their chosen round, set the actual bullets in an attached tray, fill the rotating shellplate with casings that had their primers installed, and all it took was a quick programming of what caliber they were creating and what propellant they were using in order for the machine to automatically fill the casings with the prescribed amount of powder before seating the actual bullet on top, creating the cartridge. While especially handy for students with full-auto weaponry, those with slower-firing guns like Ruby enjoyed either the manual press or doing it by hand. Even with the reliance on the machine, the brunette seemed to be double-checking its work before pushing the rounds into a long, curved magazine.

She was making idle chatter with the other girl – a faunus; one with large, furry red ears much like a fox's that matched her shoulder-length hair. After screwing the broad head of an arrow into the thin and fletched shaft, the faunus paused in her conversation to examine her completed work and Weiss could make out the slitted pupils that stood out within her light brown irises. What interested the heiress though was the gloved hand that the apparent archer positioned close to the head, Dust crystals perfectly cut into smaller gemstones lined up along the knuckles. One - a Freeze gem - lit up briefly and a layer of frost visibly encased the arrowhead. Being a caster herself, Weiss knew the signs of a Dust spell when she saw it and could guess what would happen to a target and everything within its vicinity if it was hit by the arrow.

Apparently satisfied, the fox faunus went to slide the arrow into a nearby quiver – already holding over a dozen of them - until she happened to catch Weiss's stare. Smiling pleasantly, she gave the heiress a short wave which Weiss returned without thought, only realizing just who she was waving to and what they were using after she already did it.

Somewhere along the line, what animosity that Weiss once held to the faunus in general had nearly vanished. She still felt it regardless: a tiny sense of apprehension such as now but that was mostly restricted to faunus she didn't know and caught the attention of as she was comfortable in the presence of those she knew like the bunny-eared Velvet. Being a child of a family that was and still is immersed in a war with an all-faunus terrorist organization that's produced a number of casualties throughout the ongoing years of conflict, it was amazing to Weiss that such progress had been made considering it's only been a few months since she started at Beacon.

Other than being exposed to faunus students and occasional professors over a length of time, it was the White Fang itself that was helping Weiss understand the difference between its radical members and your average faunus. To Weiss, the true "face" of her enemy was one with masked features and hooded uniforms that hid both their human and even faunus traits rather than the friendly face of the fox girl. So intent on striking fear into their human adversaries by donning such fearsome apparel, there was definitely a degree of separation from the rest of their brethren that was making it easier for humans like Weiss and, perhaps, even other faunus to identify a line between the two.

Nonetheless, it was far from erasing the racial tensions that maintained existence amongst the races. While it was those masks and uniforms that Weiss was labeling as her enemies, she knew that it was your average faunus citizens who were choosing to wear them after having been pushed too far by the prejudices that were against them…something which the Schnee family has contributed to.

Inevitably, Weiss thought about Blake. When Blake had accidentally ousted herself as a former member of the White Fang, Weiss had initially hated her and went as far to believe that Blake was still with them and, this whole time, had been using her attendance at Beacon to spy on not only Weiss but the rest of RWBY and the combat school. That night at the docks where Blake had fought side-by-side with Yang to drive out the White Fang had at least proven where her loyalties were and Weiss's own…epiphanies…gave her a better awareness of all the gray between her former black and white thinking, allowing her to understand that she and Blake were both victims of a war they didn't want. Although things weren't one hundred percent perfect between them, that incident and the care that both girls had exhibited towards their recovering leader had brought them to an agreement that they were on the same side and could fight together as comrades and even friends. And, maybe, depending on what the future held, that friendship that existed between an heiress and a former criminal could be the sign of an eventual bridging between their respective races so long as they worked together to protect the world they lived in.

At the moment though, they were fine with limiting their efforts to a pair of sisters who've become important to them in one way or another.

Weiss wondered if the fox faunus thought anything about the Dust she used that could've been mined by any number of the Dust companies like SDC that took advantage of her kind as a cheap source of labor. She wondered if that girl knew who she was. There was no way for her to know unless she asked but, for the first time, Weiss didn't let it bother her and focused on the plain and simple: they were Huntresses-in-training who recognized each other as equals and their weapons, no matter where they may've come from, were being used to defend human and faunus kind from the Grimm and any other evil forces whether it be the White Fang or otherwise.

_Only one of us has a weapon right now, _Weiss thought, bringing her back to why she was here. After throwing an extra nod to the faunus which was responded to with an increased lengthening of the archer's smile that showed off a couple of her pointed teeth, Weiss went on her way to let them both get back to their business.

Weiss's had finally chosen a table at the farthest corner of the shop to better separate them from the rest of the students. Somewhere along the way, Ruby had collected a handful of tools that she was laying out almost as if she was one of the heiress's servants setting the table for dinner back at home in Atlas with Crescent Rose being the main course as the young leader set her scythe down right in the middle in its full length. Mindful of safety, she released the bulky magazine and set it off to the side before pulling back on the bolt to make sure that the chamber was clear.

Ruby didn't give her partner any kind of direction, just plopping herself down on a stool before grabbing a wrench to begin removing the center bolt of the frame that held the multiple pieces that formed the crescent-shaped scythe blade. Weiss stood there, making a show of the slow placing of her hands on her hips and the tilting of her head in a derisive manner which was her standard action in response to a shortcoming of Ruby's that mainly occurred during their study sessions together when Ruby would give an unsatisfactory answer to a question that Weiss would pose or when the young leader asked for a break.

Usually Ruby would appear thoroughly ridiculed but in this instance it was like she's become ignorant to Weiss's presence. As soon as she bent over to fill her vision with Crescent Rose, its wielder became closed off to everything but it and she didn't so much as glance up at Weiss during the time it took for her to remove the center bolt, followed by the rear one, set the wrench aside, and switch to a flathead to deal with the smaller screws so that she can start stripping down the frame.

The clanking of the plates that Ruby piled together did little to mute the tapping of Weiss's foot but the rhythm failed to bring her partner's attention to her. Not once did her eyes stray from her work, hands not even faltering as they methodically disassembled the fearsome scythe down to its separate components. When Ruby fully exposed the blade, the dangerous edge didn't delay her from taking and sliding out each piece with her bare hands, setting them aside in loose formation.

Ruby's face being set in concentration kept Weiss from making a verbal effort and the heiress took a few seconds to make sure that this abundance of immaturity was exhibiting such discipline. A smile was on Ruby's face; an easy, contented smile that was broken when Ruby stuck out her tongue and her forehead creased to advertise strain when her arm forcibly twisted against a particularly stubborn screw.

Instead, Weiss reached for a stool to slide out and sit on, being careful so as not to have her arm bump against the pieces of Crescent Rose that were taking over the surface of the table the longer Ruby went on. Her gaze strayed for scant seconds but it soon came back to Ruby's face and the other noises within the workshop began to dim in Weiss's ears as she focused on her partner.

Weiss wondered how, during moments of peace like these, people would think back to a time when they may not have been so. She was no exception, briefly flashing back to when that face of Ruby's had been cold and still, her eyes having been closed and never meant to open again. When she mentally revisited that incident as she did now, she had some difficulties in believing that what happened had really been real. She knew that it hasn't reached two weeks but everything at the docks and the aftermath seemed like a bad dream that she had woken up from.

It made her appreciate what has become 'normal' within the halls of Beacon and with her team. Finishing assignments and studying for tests which were mixed with the occasional sparring match and Grimm hunt. There were none of the responsibilities that Weiss had to uphold; not the ones that came with her family or the ones she believed were hers until she realized the dark path that they were leading her on and how she almost reached a point of no return where she would've thrown all of this to the side.

It was that thought that made everything she just scorned bearable. The air no longer felt as heavy and disturbing and the rest of Yatsushi's rough grinding of his sword went on without notice, Weiss only registering how the machine turned off sometime after it had done so.

She actually ended up missing what Ruby said when the scythe-wielder finally decided to speak. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"Do you know why we use weapons, Weiss?" Ruby questioned while she slid the shroud off the barrel of her integrated sniper rifle.

Weiss's first thought was that Ruby was trying to get her with a trick question for what else was she supposed to think when someone of her stature was asked such a thing? She soon remembered that it _was_ Ruby who was asking so she decided to humor her. "To fight the Grimm."

Ruby nodded but kept her attention on her weapon. "Right. All the Huntresses before us had weapons to fight the Grimm even long before they were actually called Huntresses or Huntsmen."

"I doubt they had the kinds of weapons that we do now," Weiss pointed out.

"No, they didn't, and we know that many of them didn't have the advantage of making their own weapons like we do. Long ago, there were blacksmiths and people with similar jobs who made weapons and armor for them so that they could focus on fighting with them. Swords, axes, bows and arrows - although it was cool when Port told us that scythes were used too."

It was the last that Weiss smirked lightly at, the comment belonging more to the Ruby she knew and she remembered when Ruby had interrupted one of Port's stories to gain clarification that scythes had been recorded as a viable weapon. With an enemy as endless as the Grimm, any and all tools that could serve as weapons were probably put to use. "So when did it all change?"

"When we made our greatest discovery!"

"Which is?"

Ruby did turn to look at her and Weiss was surprised to see her leader doing so with an expression that said that the answer should be obvious. "I have to tell _you _that?"

It clicked immediately and she was right; it _was _obvious and the fencer was blaming Ruby for her lapse for taking a role that was usually hers. "Dust."

Ruby nodded again and Weiss may be imagining it but there was something slightly different but very familiar with this one. _Oh, you gotta be- she's doing it just like me!_ With all the times that Weiss had nodded with that degree of slowness, she wondered if Ruby was instinctively copying her now that she was the lecturer.

"It was more than just giving us fancy spells to zap and toast and freeze Grimm," Ruby continued, bringing Weiss back to the lesson – _This really is one, isn't it?_ – while she returned to Crescent Rose. "That's how it started but then we figured out how to use Dust for other stuff like forging. Dust like Burn Dust gave smiths a new way to heat the metal as they were able to use it too."

Really, anyone was able to use Dust as its most noteworthy property and what made it become a weapon for humanity was how its power was triggered by the Aura of all humans and faunus. While it took one who possessed greater willpower and Aura control to draw out and harness Nature's Wrath to unleash it in the form of destructive spells – something that went double for its raw, crystal form -, Weiss knew it was doable for others who may only know the basics to manipulate Dust for more simple acts. Enough, in this instance, to aid in the construction of weapons.

"So Dust made it easier to construct weapons and armor," Weiss hypothesized. "Easy enough for those who aren't trained smiths to create their own."

"Not just easier," Ruby corrected. "The new methods also led to weapons that were stronger and sharper. But that's not all. Dust was able to let us do something with our weapons that we've never done before."

That Weiss knew the answer to even if she didn't truly understand the meaning. "It could make your weapon a part of you." At Ruby's silent confirmation, Weiss admitted, "I don't know what you mean."

"That's what I wanted to show you and why I brought you here." Setting her tools down, Ruby gestured to what had become of Crescent Rose: a sea of parts that stretched all across the length and width of the table.

Weiss swept her gaze over them all, admittedly amazed as she had never really gotten such a look at Crescent Rose as she did now. She would take care of Myrtenaster and there were times when Ruby was performing maintenance nearby but the rapier's straightforward design had the advantage of being easy to clean and maintain, leading Weiss to be done long before she could witness Ruby reaching this step.

For as many times as Weiss would use the title 'dunce' or 'dolt' in regards to Ruby, seeing for herself the complicated design of Crescent Rose yet knowing firsthand of how flawlessly the weapon worked when wielded by its owner had her realizing just what a technological marvel it was.

And, somehow, Ruby was able to accomplish this herself.

"How do you propose in showing me?" Weiss asked.

Here Ruby's confidence wavered as she looked between the dismantled Crescent Rose and Weiss. "Uh, well, there might've been an easier and quicker way to do this but I thought that this would be better."

_Of course, _Weiss sighed. "Better how?"

"I told you that Myrtenaster was a dead weapon," Ruby began explaining. "And it really was. When you wield a weapon that wasn't made by you, it really is just a weapon that you just swing around. It'd be like if you were a cop or a soldier who was given a gun or a sword that was made in a factory; you use and become familiar with what's provided for you, not with what's compatible to you. Myrtenaster is still a bit better as it was a weapon made for you but because you weren't part of the forging process you never developed a connection to it."

"And you thought taking apart Crescent Rose would help me see what a living weapon is like?"

"I wanted to show you what a true connection was like and this'll really show you. I'm going to put Crescent Rose back together but I want you to not only watch me but I want you to use your Aura with mine while I do so."

"How do you mean?"

"I have an idea," Ruby revealed, tapping her chin in thought. "I was thinking about our bond and when I gave my Aura to you. Since the whole point is being able to share Aura and giving pieces of ourselves to each other, I think that when we both use our Aura on Crescent Rose while I'm rebuilding it, you'll be able to see exactly what I see and it may even respond to you."

"So you want me to touch Crescent Rose with my Aura along with yours," Weiss surmised.

"Mhm!"

Weiss had already let Ruby drag her this far so when the thought came to stop and leave, it didn't hold much sway over her. So, instead, after a roll of her eyes, she asked, "Where do you want me?"

"Um…" An embarrassed smile popped up on the scythe-wielder. "Stand behind and maybe, ya know, grab onto something. Maybe my shoulders. It might work better."

"Alright," Weiss said, perhaps a little too quickly to get over the odd request and the stroke of her own embarrassment that she experienced. Despite spending the last few months with Ruby and Yang who were no strangers to showing affection to each other and close friends through hugs or other examples of physical contact, Weiss was not fully comfortable with it even if she couldn't say that she didn't like it whenever either sibling surprised her. Ever since bonding to Ruby, the younger girl had undergone a spike in clinginess that Weiss had tolerated until school life went back to normal.

They were also in the presence of other people, something that Ruby must've been mindful to and it was something that had Weiss looking around as she stood up from her seat to fulfill Ruby's request. Yatsuhashi had apparently left but the fox faunus and her friend were lingering to share a few more words before they would, hopefully, leave as well. Weiss took some relief in that the spot that Ruby chose let Weiss present her back to them, blocking Ruby and what they were doing from their sight.

After some hesitation, Weiss brought her hands up and tentatively gripped Ruby's shoulders. Her embarrassment was temporarily driven away as soon as she had a firm grip, the heiress noting that while her partner's shoulders were still small due to her young age and Weiss's hands were able to cover them, there was a perceivable definition of the deltoid muscles that gave credence to the girl's preference for combat.

"Are you ready?"

"Uh, yes," Weiss replied, gaze jolting up to the back of Ruby's head. She gave a squeeze to those shoulders to better show it.

"Okay. Well…here we go, I guess."

"Uh huh."

Weiss felt the warmth of Ruby's Aura beneath her fingers as soon as her partner drew it out. What surprised Weiss was how quickly her own responded as it was already activating before she could consciously do it. Retaking the reins, Weiss did as she was told, focusing her Aura at her hands before having it stretch to make its way down from Ruby's shoulders and her arms to where they would reach her hands.

She could feel the same difference in their Auras as in their personalities. Ruby's was warm and energetic; an abundance of charged energy that twitched excitedly. It was the Aura of a person who got their joy from action, something that made Ruby perfect for her method of fighting with a scythe and complemented by a Semblance that was all about super speed. Weiss's, on the other hand, was calm and tightly controlled, obeying Weiss's instructions as it steadily traveled through Ruby's Aura. No, not through it. When Weiss's Aura began weaving through Ruby's Aura without her consent, she was ready to fight it until she realized how natural the action was. Ruby's was doing the same, curling around Weiss's Aura and helping guide it to where it needed to be.

"Okay," Ruby spoke up as soon as their Auras gathered at her hands. "Now let me show you."

When Ruby grabbed a piece that made up a section of Crescent Roses's shaft for the scythe and receiver for the sniper rifle, her Aura reached out to encompass it, Weiss's being pulled along to do the same thing. Red and white, tightly bound together, looped around piece.

And to Weiss's amazement, it responded. A piece of metal it may be, it nonetheless had something imprinted within that was triggered as soon as they touched on it. Having felt it seconds ago, Weiss compared it to how her Aura had activated as soon as she felt Ruby's.

Ruby didn't look to Weiss or say anything; she just began reassembling her gun-scythe. She grabbed the other part of the shaft that also acted as the barrel. Like before, something reacted to the combined Auras of the two Huntresses and when Ruby began screwing on the barrel Weiss detected a sensation that was best described as a certainty that what Ruby was doing was correct: that the two pieces were supposed to be together like that. It was more than figuring that they were supposed to be together as it was more an instinctive surety.

Ruby reslid the shroud back over the barrel and screwed it in place. When she began retrieving pieces that Weiss didn't recognize or didn't know how they were supposed to fit on the scythe, there came that sensation again for, as soon as Ruby grabbed it, Weiss suddenly had a feeling that she knew where it should go which was later confirmed when Ruby screwed it in the exact spot that she was thinking.

Upon Ruby completing the shaft by reinstalling the scope before she went on to reassemble the frame that would hold her scythe blade, that was when Weiss understood. It was _Ruby_ that was in each piece. Weiss having no knowledge of Crescent Rose's construction yet this unexplainable guidance to knowing which piece went where as soon as Ruby took it was coming from the part of Ruby that was imbued in Weiss's own heart. The Ruby that was part of Crescent Rose was reacting to the heiress because she herself had a part of Ruby in her too.

It went beyond an intuitive installation. Every separated part of Crescent Rose was a puzzle piece that Ruby was bringing together. When she completed it, when Crescent Rose was laid out before them, Weiss got the full picture as a pulse of Ruby's Aura went through the weapon to get it to transform. Every spinning of the gears, every sliding of the plates, the shortening of the shaft, the retracting and folding of the blade, Weiss was given an incredible sense of insight that went beyond sight. The screws were tight, the frame was secure, everything was in perfect condition. If there was anything wrong Weiss couldn't detect it, probably due to how Ruby hadn't used it in a while for it to need any kind of maintenance.

Their Auras still intertwined, Ruby's satisfaction was palpable to the heiress. She could also feel how, when Ruby picked up Crescent Rose, that the weapon was lighter than it appeared, something that Weiss didn't expect. Ruby turned to Weiss and cocked her head curiously, asking a silent question.

With her hands still locked to Ruby's shoulders, Weiss returned with, "Okay, now how do I do that?" 

* * *

><p>"We start with the right metal," Ruby answered, each step she made being accompanied with a bounce. "We don't do everything. It's more than just the ore as it's how it's processed. You get a lot of a metal's strength and properties from what's added during the smelting. The finished product is then stored for us to use!"<p>

For Beacon, that metal was apparently stored in a facility much like the one Ruby had led Weiss to. The leader of RWBY in question appeared ecstatic to be here with the only time that Weiss could recall Ruby acting as such being when they would wander into a candy store or bakery with her looking to the vast, sweet selections with stars in her eyes as she debated on what would satisfy her sweet tooth that day. There were no shelved candies here as, upon the girls' arrival, holograms winked to life to project examples of the various metals that were available, complete with graphs and chemical formulas that Weiss couldn't make sense of.

It was the large number of metals that had Weiss asking, "Wouldn't someone just select the strongest metal? Why so many?"

"Everyone says they have the strongest metal," Ruby replied and Weiss could swear that she heard a scoff. "The strongest metal in their airships, their androids, their armor, their blades, but it doesn't make them unbreakable. Strength isn't the point of most of these anyway as it is their usage. Depending on how it was processed, these metals can be molded into various forms such as plates, wires and fibers to form a mesh or weave into other materials. You can even micronize them!"

Ruby halted her bouncing steps in order to spin around to face Weiss. "Why do you think Huntsmen and Huntresses have weapons that come in so many shapes and forms or are even able to change their shape? Depending on what you use, you can make anything you want!"

"Anything of which will probably also be a gun," Weiss noted dryly, referring to how a huge portion of Beacon students had some kind of firearm installed in their swords, spears, daggers, axes, or staves. True, Myrtenaster possessed aspects of a firearm but the heiress liked to think that her rapier had a bit more dignity by using pure Dust instead of the louder and more archaic bullets that only used Dust as a propellant and enhancer.

"Well, yeah, but that's because guns are easy," Ruby explained. "All you really need is a barrel and a chamber to hold the bullet, have some kind of firing pin and a way to trigger it, and there you go. Most of those parts are tiny and can fit into anything as long as you have the room for it and that's the beauty of it!" Ruby twirled on one foot, arms outstretched as if ready to take everything in and Weiss could make out the wide-eyed wonder and elation beneath fluttering bangs. "Just imagine it, Weiss: any one of these can be used to create a flamethrower-lance, glaive-revolver, shotgun-batons - the choices are endless!"

She giggled as she eyed the holograms, something that brought Weiss up short. This girl was certainly acting like her partner Ruby but, like back at the workshop, she was expressing such knowledge that Weiss not only lacked but it was so informative and logical. This being on a subject that Weiss had offhandedly passed off as nothing but an obsession of Ruby's.

"Oh!" Ruby rounded on Weiss. "Right, I almost forgot. I was about to say that we should get started but we need the schematics for that."

Weiss produced her scroll, opening it and sorting through her more personal files that she kept separate from her school-related ones. There weren't many for her to go through and she found the plans that she had formed with one of her father's hired engineers when she made her decision to go to Beacon. "I have them. I'll transfer them to your scroll right now-"

"No!" In a flash Ruby was in front of her, gripping her arm.

"What?" Tugging her arm free, Weiss fixed her with an annoyed glare. "How else are you going to see them?"

"Just let me see your scroll!" Ruby said. "I don't want them! Myrtenaster is yours and should only be yours!"

_ There's my dolt,_ Weiss thought exasperatedly. _Saying things that don't make any sense._ She chose to go with it, holding out her scroll to Ruby. "You could've just deleted them after we were done but, whatever, I won't argue."

Ruby didn't take the scroll just yet. That wide-eyed wonder came back as Ruby regarded it and she used her cloak to furiously wipe at her hands as if afraid to get the device dirty if she touched it. Then, with a show of over-exaggerated reverence, she carefully took the scroll to hold it with a delicacy that Weiss didn't have the heart to tell her that there were probably several copies back home.

"Durzaanium," she spoke after a few moments of examination.

"Excuse me?" Weiss questioned.

"Says here that that was what was used for the blade." Ruby slid her finger along the screen to get a better look at the provided angles that the images offered, her expression and voice saying nothing about the choice.

It led to Weiss asking, "Is that good?"

"Very good. When it comes to fixed blades like Myrtenaster's, you want a high carbon metal and durzaanium is an alloy that's composed of more than one metal and nonmetal element. Depending on the grade, it can be very strong and durable, even when used in such a thin blade. If there was a material that can be considered the strongest, this would be one of them."

Weiss frowned. "But Myrtenaster still broke."

"Well, yeah; nothing's indestructible. The strongest metal can still break when you beat it up enough. I mean, how many students and Grimm have we used our weapons against?"

Too many for Weiss to count but she did think about it. All the Grimm that she didn't vanquish with her spells but chose to stab and cut with her rapier, a good portion of her blows banging uselessly against the bone armor that protected a variety of the species. The weapons that Myrtenaster competed against like Magnhild, striking and being struck multiple times. And-

_And the colossal, armored legs that Weiss slashed at from behind which was followed by a thrust before the fencer leapt and transitioned into a flurry of blows that laced all along the equally-armored back. Her opponent jerked and shuddered against the barrage but the helmet turned to face her, the slit of the visor revealing no eyes but empty darkness before the gigantic longsword was coming around, the heiress still in mid-air when she brought her rapier up to guard her against the coming impact._

They really did put their weapons through a lot.

"Our Aura does help with that but only a little." Scroll in hand, Ruby made her way to a terminal while explaining. "Just like our Aura protects us, it does extend to our weapons though not to such an extent. We channel our Aura through them, give them a little protection, but the reason we have swords and other things is so that we don't waste it."

In theory, any item that a Hunter can get their hands on can turn into an improvised armament. By channeling Aura through it, they can strengthen its durability whether it be an iron rod, a wooden branch, or - in the most immature way possible, in Weiss's mind - simple food as some Beacon students liked to use when a dispute or a joke that happened to occur in the cafeteria went too far. The drawback is that the weaker the material, the more Aura you needed to donate in order for it to contend with stronger items and, even then, you can't expect a branch or loaf of bread to fair particularly well against a properly-fashioned blade no matter how much Aura you invested. The better the weapon, the less Aura you needed to waste and, thus, could be used for other things.

"These plans are very detailed," Ruby unexpectedly complimented. "You said that it was someone from your company who made it? They're pretty good."

"Naturally," Weiss replied, injecting her words with an added dose of ridicule as if expecting anything else from the Schnees and those they hired would be anything less than great was preposterous. In reality, it was meant to hide the twinge of remorse that Weiss experienced at Ruby's comment, remembering just who it was who helped her design and then built Myrtenaster for her.

She also remembered what happened to him when his job was done and it was Weiss who had been responsible for it.

"You're getting the materials?" Weiss queried, wanting to distract Ruby as she went to her leader's side.

"Beacon has plenty of it," Ruby informed, fingers typing on the holographic keypad. After keying a series of numbers that was the exact grade of durzaanium and the amount they needed, an image of it appeared on the screen: a smooth bar of dark gray metal. Ruby tapped an icon beneath it to confirm that that was what they wanted.

Behind the multiple holographic exhibits was a tall window that separated this area of the room from what had to be the main storage. With Ruby stepping over to it and Weiss dutifully following, the heiress could see that beyond the window was a whole array of deposit boxes that stretched high and wide enough that Weiss would lose count a quarter way through if she tried to get the exact number. Each box had a number chiseled upon it, undoubtedly meant to signify what it held.

One a dozen rows up and a little to the left slid open and a floating utility droid came into view, flying right up to the box. Reaching in with one of its pincer-like hands, it retrieved a bar of metal with the box closing as soon as it got it. The droid floated down to a transfer station, setting the bar down on the tray at its side. Its task done, the droid returned to whatever station it was to remain at until called for again.

There came a chime from the transfer station and a door on the Huntress' side opened up which Ruby stuck her arm through to retrieve the bar. After giving it a pleased look, she turned and handed it to Weiss who could now see and feel its actual size and weight. It was lighter than she expected it to be - five pounds, if that - and the length was a few inches less of a foot with her fingers just able to close around the width of it. The dark gray color, she noted, was close to, if not exactly, the same shade that Myrtenaster had possessed.

"This is durzaanium?" Weiss asked, flipping the bar around in her hand to get a full view of it.

"No." Lips stretching further, Ruby corrected, "This is Myrtenaster." 

* * *

><p>There were machine shops and then there were smithies. Apparently there was a difference which Ruby made sure to educate Weiss on.<p>

Machine shops were for maintenance. If there was an edge that had become dull and needed to be resharpened, screws or gears that needed to be replaced, dents that needed to be beaten out, ammo that needed to be created, or just some cleaning and polishing, students went there.

A smithy, on the other hand, was for creating weapons. Considering that this was Beacon and students usually had weapons – whether forged by themselves or attained through other methods – by the time they were accepted and transferred here, the only ones who visited smithies were ones who had something particularly bad happen to them and needed to replace them. This someone for today was Weiss.

This smithy was smaller than the machine shop that they visited only an hour before. While the shop could accommodate a dozen or more students that needed to do any number of those tasks with them being provided with the numerous machines and tools that could let them do so, the smithy was specifically designed for the rare few who needed to rebuild. Machines like power hammers, lathes, and milling machines that were supplemented with heavy-duty tools like plasma cutters took up most of the room and were situated close together due to the limited space and so the worker only had to cross a few measly steps to reach them.

Then there was the forge. It wasn't how Weiss imagined it, having pictured a hearth topped with a pile of coal and an obsolete blower beneath to feed air and heat the flames to the right temperature like how it would be long ago. Instead, it was a cylindrical chamber held up and placed right in a center of the smithy with an opening in the front that would be where trainees would stick the materials through to heat them.

There was, however, an anvil right next to it.

"You'll have plenty of privacy because it isn't often that students need to use the smithy," Ruby pointed out. "You'll be able to use all your concentration when you begin the forging process."

Once Ruby performed her demonstration with Crescent Rose, Weiss had to admit that she was warming up to the idea of rebuilding Myrtenaster with her own hands. The knowledge that Ruby was imparting to her and how she was leading the heiress along each step invoked pure interest and it didn't seem that hard or bad anymore.

That was until she walked into the smithy, taking a quick look around at first, and then she took a _real_ look around. A ball of uncertainty began to gather within the pit of her stomach, weighing down her previous confidence and it got heavier the closer Ruby got to the forge. Even when Ruby flashed another of her excited smiles, it didn't do much for Weiss as she was having a foreboding premonition as to what, exactly, she was about to be told to do.

But there was no way to confirm it until she asked. "And how do I start?"

The confirmation came when Ruby patted the top of the forge. "With the forge! It's Dust-powered obviously, which is filled on the side here." She pointed to a tube attached to the forge, the small window revealing a full helping of powdered Burn Dust that filled it. "You take the durzaanium that you got, wait until it's heated up enough, take it out, and then hammer it to shape it into Myternaster's blade."

Weiss stared. Then she stared some more. She took a moment to look down at the metal bar she held in her hand but when she brought her gaze back up she just stared at Ruby and the forge, the instructions going over in her mind multiple times. "Want to run that by me again?"

Ruby gave Weiss an odd look but, oblivious to the heiress's growing unease, chose to comply with added detail. "Well you don't do it _exactly_ like that. You need to turn the forge on first cause, like, that's just obvious." She powered it on as soon as she said it. The Dust within the tube immediately began to glow a bright, lively red as a brief shudder coursed through the forge. "And you want to get it at the right temperature…"

She dialed it in and the interior of the forge itself emitted the exact same glow and Weiss felt the heat that exited through and brushed past, getting warmer as the seconds went by. To Weiss's growing distress, Ruby then turned to a nearby rack. Whereas the machines and tools that the heiress had seen so far were powered and automated in some way, the tongs that the scythe-wielder grabbed were just that: tongs.

"You might want to wear gloves too," Ruby continued with her explanation while she had the tongs click audibly. "But once it's just right, you use these to put the durzaanium inside. Give it time to heat up, then you take it out, place it on the anvil there and then…you hammer!" The last was punctuated when Ruby retrieved and held a smithing hammer above her head and, like the tongs, that hammer was an actual hammer. Nothing but a thick, wooden handle topped with a heavy iron head.

And all Weiss could do was stare. "So let me get this straight…"

Ruby focused on the heiress, still smiling obliviously with hammer in one hand, tongs in the other, and both held high.

"You want me to take this," Weiss held up the bar of durzaanium and motioned towards the forge, "and put it into that…"

Ruby nodded. "Mhm!"

"Take it out and place it on the anvil…"

"Getting it right so far!"

"And then hit it with a hammer until I turn it into a blade."

"Right! Oh, uh, but you're not going to do it all in one go. When the metal cools off you're gonna want to reheat and then keep going so it's going to take time and – uh, Weiss? Where are you going?"

The fencer had swung around in the middle of her partner's explanation and began moving to the exit. "I'm not doing this."

"What!?" came Ruby's shocked cry.

"I'm calling my company, I'm going to have the _experts _make a new Myrtenaster, and then I'm having them send it here so I don't have to waste my time doing this."

There was the crashing of what had to be the tools when Ruby dropped them and Weiss predicted what would happen next. So, when Ruby dived and slid on the floor, Weiss immediately hopped to the side, pulling her one leg up and away from her leader's reach, the girl's fingers brushing the heel of her boot but not the limb she wanted to trap. Unfortunately for the heiress, Ruby recovered faster than she expected as just as she was about to make good on her escape, her leader surged up desperately and grabbed whatever she could.

"Weiss, wait!" Ruby cried, ignoring how what she ended up getting a hold of was the end of Weiss's flared skirt.

"Do you have any sort of decency at all, you dullard!?" Weiss screamed, a need for modesty overpowering escape that had her bending awkwardly, one hand going to her skirt to keep it in place and attempt to pull it free from Ruby's fingers.

Ruby was unperturbed. "How can you leave now? I showed you what it was like with Crescent Rose! I helped you gather the materials! All you need to do is the actual forging!"

"And just how am I supposed to do that?"

"I just told you!"

"That's just the basics!" Ruby hadn't told her anything about specifics. How long was she supposed to heat the metal? When would she know to put it back in? This wasn't even getting into how Weiss was supposed to shape the actual blade to make it look like how Myrtenaster's once was: flawless, smooth, and exceedingly sharp. "There's no way it can be that easy!"

"Well yeah it's easier said than done!" Ruby shot back. "It'll still take time; at least a couple days before you get the blade right!"

Days. She was expected to do this for _days_ and that was if she even got it right on the first try. What if she screwed up? What if she ended up creating not a new blade but some warped, unrecognizable heap of scrap? All that time that could end in nothing but failure.

"No chance!" she declared. "Let go of my skirt before you rip it!"

Ruby did the opposite, knuckles white and tight as she held on. "I said I would teach you and I will! I'll help you get started! After that, you'll be able to do the rest by yourself no problem! You won't even need me, I swear!"

"Yeah, right!"

"Just once! Heat the metal just once! After that, if you still don't want to do it, I'll stop! You can have someone else build Myrtenaster! But if you do it yourself, I promise that you'll have the best Myrtenaster ever!"

Weiss glared down at Ruby but she became conscious of the light weight of the alloy that remained in her palm. She already had it, the forge was active and right there. All she had to do was place it inside, let it heat, and then she could be rid of Ruby's nonsense and get a proper Myrtenaster.

"Let go of my skirt."

Ruby brightened up at that. "Are you-?"

"I said, let go of my skirt."

Ruby did what she was told albeit hesitantly, ready to pounce again if Weiss decided to take off as soon as she let go. When her fingers pulled away entirely and Weiss didn't bolt, it was enough for the red-themed girl to lower them entirely as she became more hopeful.

"How long is it going to take?" Weiss questioned, stepping past her partner and towards the forge.

Ruby tried to hide her cheer but the heiress heard a quiet squeal break through regardless. Jumping back to her feet, she rejoined her partner, picking up the tongs in the process. "The first heating takes the longest so a couple minutes or so should do it."

Weiss held out the durzaanium in reply and Ruby, having managed to get the heiress this far, didn't voice any protest and placed the metal inside the forge herself. Setting the tongs aside, the scythe-wielder took a seat on the anvil and stared raptly at the forge. Weiss chose to remain standing, arms crossed tightly over her chest

"You won't regret this, Weiss."

She limited her reply to a grunt, watching uninterestingly at the silhouette of the bar that was surrounded in dancing flames. Her vision strayed so that she could take a look at Ruby who remained completely enamored. "This is the best way?"

"It's the best way," her leader repeated. "Like I said, this Myrtenaster will be so much better than your other one."

"And hitting it with a hammer is the only way? What's the point of all these other tools then?"

"Oh, you'll use them too," Ruby assured. "Just not for the blade. When Yang had to make her gauntlets, for a lot of the plates she used a power hammer like that one over there to shape and flatten them."

"And I can't use that instead?"

Ruby shook her head. "No, that's not meant for sword blades. You want to take it slow and give extra attention for this. When you do the other parts like the cylinder, you can use a machine to mill it out. It's the blade that's the most important."

"And why's that?" Though trying to act indifferent, the curious, knowledge-seeking part of Weiss was interested.

"Well that's the part that you're going to use the most to hit things, right?" Ruby threw Weiss a sheepish smile and shrug. "When you do form the blade, you'll not only be hammering it but channeling your Aura through it at the same time. It'll become sharper and stronger than normal."

"How does that even work?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure myself. Some fancy stuff about altering the structure or somesuch. I just know that, when I did it with Crescent Rose's blade, it just seemed like I was putting a piece of myself into it. It's because the flames in the forge are Dust flames. When the metal is heated, some of the Dust's power is mixed in with the metal and it makes it easier to mold and keep it hot with your Aura. The time spent channeling your Aura in and out of the blade with the Dust will let you leave an impression on it."

Weiss didn't miss the similarity between what Ruby was describing to how a bond was formed. The difference was that they were leaving a part of themselves in an inanimate object. To make up for not having an Aura, Dust was used as a replacement in order for the Hunter to form the bond between weapon and wielder.

"So when you talk about a weapon that's living," Weiss began, "it's a weapon that a Hunter has put a part of themselves into which is like giving it life."

"Yep!" For some reason that particularly proud grin that Ruby sent to Weiss made the heiress feel a bit more pleased than she should about figuring It out. "Without it, it's something that becomes dead or hollow. With it, it gives you a link to your weapon that lets you fight more effectively and become intuitive to any weaknesses or flaws that may develop. When you fought Nora, I gave you plenty of Aura but Myrtenaster was still destroyed because you didn't know it was on the verge of breaking."

"But if I made Myrtenaster on my own from the start it would've held out."

"Probably."

Weiss's brow furrowed in sudden thought. "But not everyone made their own weapon. What about Jaune? You said that his sword wasn't his."

"Well it helps that the design for Crocea Mors is very basic and very durable," Ruby explained. "Say what you want about the weapons back in the day but they sure could last. But, no, it was his great-great-grandfather's. Jaune said he fought in the war so the impression left on the sword would be very strong. It'll react to family which is why some Hunters will pass down their weapons to their children. It's still not the most efficient way but it's the best alternative."

Weiss had seen Crocea Mors in action. For a weapon so old, it was still as sharp and just as effective as it had to have been back then. While she still had some doubts over the combat abilities of JNPR's leader, there was no question that his sword was of high quality – gun or no gun equipped.

Ruby hopped off the anvil, reaching for the tongs. "Anyway, that should be long enough. Let's take it out."

When she took the durzaanium out of the forge and set it on the anvil, the bar was glowing orange and Weiss had to take a step back with the amount of heat that was radiating from it. At that temperature, it would give way to the blows of the hammer easily, getting it to flatten and shape to how the smith wanted it. It didn't ease Weiss's doubts about her capabilities of forming it into a blade so when Ruby handed the tongs and hammer, she didn't take it just yet.

"But how am I supposed to know if I'm doing it right?" she asked, the uncertainty still eating away at her. "I'm no smith. I didn't have any training like you did."

"It's not knowing how to do it, but knowing what you want," Ruby patiently said, tools remaining held out. "At Signal, we trained with a bunch of weapons until we found out which one was right. For me, it was much harder but that's what made me understand it better when I finally found my calling with the scythe. Once Qrow showed it to me, I knew exactly what I wanted and the design and construction of Crescent Rose came easy to me."

"That sounds too surreal," Weiss argued. "You're saying I'm just going to know what's right when I do it?"

"Myrtenaster wasn't yours but you still trained and fought with it for a long time. You felt its weight and length, have become familiar with its balance and how it works. While your Aura wasn't part of Myrtenaster, it still got a good feel for it and it's your Aura that you'll be using to help shape the blade. Just like how the best blacksmith that a warrior could have to make the best weapon for them is the warrior themselves, you'll be able to know what you want by what your soul wants."

Weiss didn't have anything to say to that and Ruby stretched to bring the tongs and hammer a bit closer. Finally, Weiss took the tongs first and maneuvered close to the anvil. Once she grabbed the superheated bar with the tongs, Weiss activated her Aura and reached out along the tongs to make contact with the durzaanium.

She felt the Dust, faint as it was. She had become intimately familiar with the sensation of Burn Dust and the other elements and could detect the hot, destructive force simmering within the metal. Once her Aura brushed against it, it reacted and Weiss could feel how Nature's Wrath permeated within and out – from the surface to the core. In this state, the molecular structure of the metal had become loose and, with the Dust, Weiss's Aura could pass between them and manipulate them to whatever she wanted.

No matter what her legacy as a Schnee may entail, it was Dust that was tied to her family and it was Dust that would help her triumph here as it has done for her before. And, when she looked to the side, it was to see her partner watching her expectantly, smiling assuredly as she gave a different form of support.

Weiss took the hammer and, steadying herself, she made the first of what would be many, _many_ strikes. 

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>_I am aware of the differing forging processes and other weaponcrafting methods. One I was kind of leaning towards was casting where you pour molten metal into a mold and then let it cool and solidify, taking the shape of the blade that you wanted. In one of those fics I did read (I can't remember the title) that at least referred to the crafting of RWBY weapons did mention a casting method being used for Crescent Rose. While I do suppose casting could've been easier and the weaknesses that weapons made in that method when compared to traditional forging could've been overcome with Aura and Dust and whatnot as I did here, in the end I chose to go with forging as we know it: heat a metal bar and hit it with a hammer! Felt like I would have more fun and creativity that way._

_One thing that did trouble me was picturing Weiss actually doing what I'm having her do until I thought about the lifestyle of Hunters. Huntsmen and Huntresses come from all over the globe and I doubt many of them come from Weiss's upbringing, making her more or less an exception. Nonetheless, no matter where they come from, Hunters are supposed to work together and Beacon and the other combat schools belong to an organization that has some independence from the governments when compared to the military and police forces. So even if you have someone like Ruby – who we now know is an islander from the more modest Patch – and Weiss – a rich heiress from the wealthy and powerful Atlas -, they're still expected to perform and uphold certain Huntressing traditions. Getting Weiss to do her own forging is like her accepting her role as a subordinate instead of a leader in Volume 1. This will lead her to coming more into her role as a Huntress which is something that I started in this chapter and will see more of in the next chapter._

_Now, while I did do some research – looking up articles, watching some documentaries, etc. – concerning the art of forging, I myself am not and have never been a blacksmith so I'm lacking in personal experience and knowledge._

**Brain: **Which is why, like any good author, we just put in what we're pretty sure is right and then BS the rest to make it look like we know what we're talking about.

_Which is, as I said, just pretty much going the "cause magic" route when it comes to Aura and Dust. It's a fictional world though and I'm one of those people who know that trying to explain everything to the littlest detail, while nice to make it seem realistic, is boring and, in the end, no one cares. We got physics-destroying weapons and anti-upskirt shenanigans going on here. Making things appear realistic, especially in the RWBYverse, is already a lost cause. But I'm having fun with these few attempts and I hope everyone had fun with this chapter._

_For those wondering, I got the name 'durzaanium' from the Dutch word 'duurzaam' which means 'durable'._

**Brain: **Because you know you have yourself a creative author when they choose to just take a word from some other language instead of making one up entirely on their own.

_Ha, I remember the last time we tried to come up with our own fancy-smancy fantasy name in WoW. Got a lot of whispers for it from people who wondered if we knew the meaning. Which we didn't._

**Brain: **I didn't know it meant _that!_

_Which is why we make sure to check that the name isn't a word or closely-related to a word of an embarrassing nature in some other language when we name our characters from now on. And thanks to those foreign languages making me forever self-conscious when it comes to picking character names in my MMOs, I figured the least they could do is give me a name for a made-up alloy._

_For one last thing, the weapons that Ruby mentioned – flamethrower-lance, shotgun-batons, etc. – were weapons drawn by fans that I saw when I Google-searched them. The fox faunus archer was another. There's a ton of archer OCs out there but there was a more interesting one I saw that had Dust gems attached to the character's glove to either enhance or conjure Dust arrows. That OC - who I don't think was a faunus but not sure - in particular I happened to see like over a year ago and it just stuck to me._

_See ya next chapter! Liking all this free time I'm having so maybe the next one will be quick too!_


	3. Crafting

**Author's Note: **There's nothing else I can say that hasn't already been said concerning Monty Oum's passing and there's plenty of people out there who have said it a hundred times better than I ever could. I respected his talents, I respected his accomplishments, and I respected him. When it comes to the universe of RWBY, I enjoy it immensely which is why it pains me to know that, after coming so far to be given the chance to start his own series with a great bunch of men and women that make up RoosterTeeth, his life was tragically cut short just as this universe of his had only just begun. All of which started with ketchup stains on a napkin.

I doubt this is the end of RWBY and I doubt RoosterTeeth or his fans are going to let it be the end. At the very least, Monty has the greatest gift that a creator could ask for: to make something and to have others enjoy and carry on with it even after death. With a mind like his, I'm sure that there's plenty of amazing developments waiting for our favorite characters of RWBY and I'm sure Miles, Kerry, Gray, and the rest of the crew will see to it to give it their best in order to make this final masterpiece of his a true work of art.

With that all said, rest in peace Monty Oum. I will honor you in the best way I can: creating works like this that people will enjoy based on this brilliant and amazing universe that you've left to us.

* * *

><p>The thing about Grimm nowadays was that, if they were named, it didn't mean anything special about them to the current generation of Huntsmen and Huntresses. Really, as humanity pulled itself away from the dark years and settled comfortably into their kingdoms, what it meant for a Grimm to have a name was that Hunters have seen and slain enough of them that they've decided to give one to their kills. Having an added label such as Giant, Major, Alpha, King, or Elder just meant that there was a variant that's going to require a bit more effort to kill.<p>

It was the nameless ones that influenced the most caution. A Grimm never seen or not seen enough before to be given a name was a Grimm that still had unknown tricks and abilities. While human and faunus have their technology to give them ever-better tools and weapons to combat the Grimm, it was their prey that had the advantage of evolution and whatever dark powers that were not only responsible for their existence but what kept spawning newer, more horrific creations. Much like how humanity would make a breakthrough that would lead to a better weapon or armor, the latest form of Grimm may have longer and sharper claws, a tougher hide that could include an added growth of scales, or a completely new appendage devoted to nothing more than to make them the better killers that could contend with whatever technology their adversaries came up with next.

Even with monsters, they understood the concept of escalation.

While Ruby had never seen them before on her island home of Patch, Creeps were one such variant of Grimm that was very common within the immediate wilderness around Vale and one she's become familiar with through her studies and practice hunts. Unlike the others – the Beowolves, the Ursai, the Boarbatusks, the Taijitu, the Nervermores, and the Deathstalkers -, these Grimm didn't have an appearance rooted to any normal animal and that in itself could be considered proof of how the Grimm as a whole have evolved from adopting forms and traits from existing species to creating ones that were wholly original for their eternal conflict with humanity.

A group of them milled about at a distance of five hundred meters away. They were one of the shortest Grimm she's ever seen - right next to Boarbatusks - that walked on two legs inverted at the knees and ending in four savage claws. Their stout bodies possessed the same bone armor, including a row of spikes that trailed down their spines and to the tips of their tails. Their skin was rough, leathery, and black to uphold the color scheme that all Grimm shared. And, through the magnification of her scope, Ruby could see the skull plates situated over their stubby heads.

They had no arms but they were fast, able to run down the swiftest of prey. That and combined with their numbers – the strength of nearly every Grimm -, they could surround, harass, and overwhelm a target usually by battering them with their thick skulls, pouncing on them and letting their claws ravage them, or trapping a limb in their powerful jaws that weren't so much meant to bite and tear as they were meant to crush whatever they got a hold of.

For Ruby, they were the perfect targets as she embedded Crescent Rose into the ground, turning the blade into an improvised mount.

Despite being half scythe, half high-impact sniper rifle, Ruby rarely used the latter function of Crescent Rose for actual, long-range shots. She preferred close quarters first and foremost, the gun and its heavy rounds with subsequent recoil meant to initiate a dance that would end with Grimm body parts and spent bullet casings littering the battleground. Even when she did make any ranged shots, they were mostly from pointblank to medium-range.

Setting up at five hundred meters was still child's play for her precious weapon, the fully-extended barrel suited to load and fire the nearly six-inch long cartridge that was filled with enough powder that the bullet could travel and hit at double that distance. But she wasn't here to see how far she could shoot: she just wanted to make up for some of the neglect that she had given to Crescent Rose.

The red X that made up her scope's crosshairs passed over the pack of Creeps and Ruby used the long, drawn-out sweeping motion to regain a proper feel for her scythe. It was light, lighter than people expected it to be due to the lightweight metals that Ruby had chosen for the plates with most of it centered at the top where the blade and frame were located. Perfect as you wanted the weight focused at the end of a long-handled weapon like a scythe for heavy blows and, in the case of a sniper-scythe, to handle the muzzle blasts.

It made the weight of the handle on top of Ruby's shoulder negligible and with her being 'in the zone' as Yang liked to say when she was completely calm and focused with her Aura flowing through her weapon, Crescent Rose felt as much a part of her as a Huntress's weapon could be. When she breathed, she imagined Crescent Rose breathing with her. There was no difference between the slight movement of her body as she did so or the swaying of Crescent Rose's scope; both of them were one and the same to the point where her shoulder and hands might as well be fused to it.

It was when Ruby pulled on the bolt to load her first round that she was reminded of some of the quarreling she had done with her fellow students when they had shown off their finished products back at Signal. A common issue that was heavily-debated on was the assortment of actions and operations that trainees had chosen for their guns or the gun parts of their melee weapons. Ruby would regularly argue with those who looked down upon her bolt-action design, seeing it as slow and inefficient when compared to semi and full-automatic.

While Crescent Rose fell short in rate of fire no matter how fast Ruby became at reloading, the bolt-action design possessed inherent advantages. Manual operation of the bolt did away with a lot of unnecessary moving parts, cutting down the possibility of jamming to nearly zero – not that a properly-made Hunter weapon was plagued by such a thing - and let her fire her heavy, custom rounds without adding any other parts that would be needed to compensate for the powerful cartridges and, thus, increase the weight of her sniper-scythe. In extension, when the bullet was fired, no energy was directed to the bolt to automatically load a new cartridge. All of it was devoted to not only send the bullet as far or as fast as it can go but, when it came to Crescent Rose, to also produced a more powerful muzzle blast for a scythe swing.

Then there were the more psychological advantages such as the added degree of care to make sure your bullet was on target as you were using a slower firing system. This transferred to melee, giving Ruby a better understanding of when to use a bullet to enhance a swing and to use it only when it would be the most effective. That and she felt more attuned to Crescent Rose when she flawlessly moved the bolt even when in the middle of spinning and twirling her weapon in her hands.

Here it was no different. When Ruby pulled it back, she felt the faint tremor when the springs in her magazine shot the cartridge up and into position. When she pushed the bolt forward, she felt the added weight of pushing the cartridge into the chamber along with it. Not once did her eye stray from the view of her scope.

Her ammunition was suited for her weapon in more than just power. Going right down to the Dust, her gravity rounds altered that fundamental force of Remnant to allow Ruby to propel herself several stories into the air. In addition, it protected her bullet from one of the biggest trajectory-altering influences of long-range shooting. She still had to be mindful of the others but today happened to be a particularly breezeless day and, at five-hundred meters, she could confidently settle her crosshairs right around the center of a Creep's mass.

It wasn't about what was the most efficient but what was most perfect for the weapon and the one who was going to be using it.

She held her breath and Crescent Rose did the same, body and weapon becoming still. Then, slowly, she exhaled and between beats her finger applied the three pounds of pressure needed to pull the trigger.

It took a little over a second of travel time for her bullet to hit but it struck right where she wanted it. Its flank had been presented, giving her a view of how it flickered as soon as her bullet hit and then went through, a cloud of dust and dirt flying to signal the impact with the ground. There was no twitching and writhing with a shot that effectively-placed, the Creep dropping dead right where it stood.

The now empty casing was already ejected off to the side when the rest of the Creeps noticed, collectively jumping and whirling around to look to their fallen brethren. By the time Ruby got the next cartridge loaded and selected a new target, it was to see her chosen Creep staring right in her direction. It lifted its head, emitting a roar to rally its pack, and Ruby's follow-up went right through its throat to silence it and put it down.

Fear and panic wasn't something that Grimm felt. As soon as they understood they were under attack and figured out it was a human who was responsible, they responded as they always did once they located her: charging en masse.

Ruby didn't let it affect her either. A moving target was harder to hit but it helped that the Creeps were coming straight at her and in a group. Immediately acquiring another target, Ruby fired again, her latest shot straying but blasting through a leg. There were no signs of damage but it fell as if Ruby's shot had nearly torn off its leg as it usually would, writhing where it lay, but it was ignored by the rest of its kind as they raced on, some jumping over the dead.

It was a pattern that Ruby followed without thought: fire, load, inhale, sight, exhale, fire, and repeat. The result was another Grimm that either dropped and slid to a stop, dead, or another that rolled and tumbled after a crippling but no less lethal shot gave a chance to fruitlessly struggle and fight to get on its feet before lying still. But there were a lot of Grimm and they were fast, stampeding through the meters of space that kept them separated from Ruby. When Ruby had to reload, dumping the empty magazine before retrieving the full one in her pouch to slam it home, there was two-hundred meters left with a little less than half the pack coming for her.

But the closing distance meant she didn't have to donate as much time to set up an accurate shot. Her eye remained on the scope until one hundred meters and then she was standing up on her feet, bracing herself against her scythe as she furiously worked the bolt and fired shot after shot, the barrel swiveling to present itself to the four remaining survivors. Two more shots halved them with one more leaving one left.

It was the last that leaped over the corpse of the one before it, fangs bared and claws extending as it lunged towards Ruby. The Huntress pointed her weapon up and fired the last shot straight into its stomach. Like all the others the body of the Creep flickered as the round caught and went through it while it was still in mid-air and then it was dropping limply at Ruby's feet.

The young Huntress-in-training admired her handiwork, a smile forming as she saw how, all along that five-hundred meter stretch, Creep corpses were strewn about. She gave Crescent Rose a loving pat and the scythe shrunk and folded at her touch. Once it properly adhered to the magnetic clamp at her back, she regarded her score on a nearby terminal, the results influencing a wider smile, and then she tapped a key.

The slain Creeps flickered once more and then winked out of existence, the holoprojectors shutting down. Signal had its own outdoor shooting range but Beacon has the added bonus of supplying holographic targets of well-known Grimm species. Granted, it was more fun and exciting to hunt them down within the Emerald Forest but the capability to summon duplicates that mimicked realistic behavioral patterns of the Grimm, such as when they were hit, had its uses when you wanted something more convenient to polish off your shooting skills during downtime. Ruby wished that the damage of being shot with a heavy bullet like hers could be as easily replicated but, alas, the limits of even holographic technology.

Considering her skills sufficiently polished, Ruby gathered up the empty shell casings to reuse and keep the station clean for the next trainee who wanted to use it before leaving the range and spending some time in the machine shop to clean her weapon and refill the magazines she emptied. It's become routine for these past few days: classes, some combat training – Goodwitch was letting her take part in duels again -, and then wind the day down with some shooting before she would return to her team's dorm for some studying. And on the way she would stop at the smithy to see how Weiss was doing.

Having started off resistant - frustratingly so, in Ruby's mind -, Weiss ended up taking to the task of rebuilding Myrtenaster very well after the first night. She had gone into her own routine similar to Ruby's with the difference being that she was exempt from combat classes due to her situation, giving her more time to work on Myrtenaster. Time which she was making the most out of.

It wasn't a surprise to Ruby as she just knew Weiss would understand as soon as she began. Constructing Crescent Rose had been one of the best times of Ruby's life - from the design process to the forging. The forging itself was laborious when it came to having your Aura running through the blade or other major components, taxing the student mentally while hammering it into shape did the same physically. The payoff was more than worth it though, the introduction and infusing of Aura with the help of Dust altering the structure of the metal to make it harder while the edge became sharper. It made something truly magnificent and Ruby had to reach back around and give Crescent Rose another affectionate pat when she spotted the smithy.

Warm air took the opening of the door as an opportunity to blast on through. That and the sound of ringing metal told Ruby that Weiss was hard at work and the young leader was smiling for a different reason when she beheld the interior of the smithy, the door closing behind her.

Everything was bathed in the red glow of the active Dust forge and the length of red-hot metal that was laid out on the anvil. Once having been a bar of durzaanium, it had since taken on the shape of what would be a proper rapier blade. Going by the look of it, there couldn't be much left. With the length and shape having been attained, a few hours on the grinder would create the edges needed and get the tang down to a proper fitting for the hilt. At this point, Weiss should be hammering out any remaining flaws.

The heiress was doing just that and, despite having visited Weiss several times, Ruby gave her another look of wide-eyed awe.

Working around a hot forge and superheated metal encouraged a wardrobe change for Weiss. Her hair was done up in a bun - off-centered, as usual - to keep her long hair from getting in the way and she had put on the heavy leather gloves that Ruby advised her to use with the addition of a supplied apron. Beneath that was a close fitting shirt with long sleeves that lacked cuffs and pants that hung over the tops of her boots. They must've come from Weiss's personal collection as they were of her preferred colors with the shirt being white and pants a light blue. It made the stains and smears painfully obvious, the apron and gloves only able to protect the fabrics so much.

Weiss paused to wipe at her forehead with her forearm and left behind a mucky smear on her usually pristine face. When she lifted her arm for another blow, sweat flew from her and hissed upon making contact with the hot metal.

An heiress was not something that Weiss looked like right now. To Ruby, her partner looked so...so..._awesome_!

How serious she appeared and how she kept going without seeming to register Ruby's presence exhibited just how dedicated she's become to the task. It's become something she wants to complete as she would a test or an essay, leading her to do little else with her friends other than share a few words during classes. Once classes ended, she went to the smithy and stayed there for hours, eventually returning to their dorm where she would study what she needed and finish the assigned homework before promptly falling into uninterrupted sleep. Yang and Blake had reacted with surprise when Ruby informed them about what it was that Weiss had been doing when they asked.

"Ice Queen's actually getting her hands dirty?" Yang asked, looking to the closed door of the bathroom, shower already running as Weiss cleansed herself of the daily grime and sweat. "Never thought I'd see the day."

"Indeed," Blake intoned simply, gazing at the shower. Beneath the surprise there were traces of respect from the BY half of RWBY with the faunus in particular looking at the pampered heiress in a new light.

When Ruby mentioned that Weiss had never built Myrtenaster, neither seemed surprised. The scythe-wielder was a bit miffed at that.

Weiss set the hammer aside and it was only then that she noticed Ruby nearby. Not saying anything, she retrieved a Freeze crystal and directed it towards the heated blade. The crystal flashed, blue cutting through red as the fencer used a minor spell to cool the blade before setting the Dust aside with the tongs joining it. Ruby remained silent, watching as Weiss removed the gloves so that she may touch and lift the blade with her bare hands, moving it this way and that as she checked for any flaws. From Ruby's position, it looked sufficiently flat and straight so she was confused when she saw Weiss frowning.

"Something wrong?" Ruby asked.

Weiss set the blade down on a section of the table and lined it up with the ruler that had been etched into the surface. Her frown deepened. "It's over an inch longer."

Ruby tilted her head. "Hm?"

"The schematics said that the blade length should be thirty-four and a quarter inches with a width of one and one-eighth." Leaving the blade where it was, Weiss pulled out her scroll and brought out the schematics to confirm it. "Yes, thirty-four and a quarter exactly. Not thirty-five and a half."

Ruby stepped over but the cursory examination she made spoke of what she was already thinking before she was saying it. "So what's the problem?"

"It's not the same." Weiss leaned over the table, shifting the blade and then setting it back against the ruler as if that would somehow shorten it. "I thought it was too much but I didn't think one or two more hits would make this much of a difference. Is this going to mess it up? Is this going to make everything else off when I get to the other components? Should I redo it? I already spent so much time on it! Can I file it down or-"

"Woah, Weiss, calm down!" Ruby interrupted what was becoming nervous ramblings. This was something else that had originally been unheard of from her partner. "An inch shouldn't-

"An inch and a _quarter_," Weiss corrected as if that fraction was the worst of insults.

"It shouldn't be a problem!" Ruby insisted. "So what if it's a little longer? I mean, you're a little older and taller than when you first received Myrtenaster so maybe this new one needs to be a little longer too!"

"But won't it mess it up? I didn't originally forge Myrtenaster but I asked the best engineer that we had to do it for me. All the measurements in this schematic," Weiss waved her scroll, "were specially designed for me. I fought well with the old Myrtenaster and accomplished so much because of it."

"And you think that an inch and a quarter would've changed any of that? Weiss, there's nothing to worry about! If it's a little longer then that's how it's supposed to be!"

"More of that inane nonsense," Weiss murmured angrily. "'This is how it's supposed to be'. How can I just _know_ any of this? It's not like I even came to Beacon for thi-" She broke off, body stiffening, and Ruby sensed that the heiress just stopped herself from saying something that she was going to regret speaking about. Weiss instead clenched her jaw, silently staring down at her rapier blade.

Although Ruby's curiosity prodded her to pursue with a line of questioning, she wisely chose to ignore it. She knew that there was something that Weiss was and had been hiding from her but she also knew that it was something that Weiss no longer wanted to do. It still troubled her though, that Ruby could plainly see, and drawing more attention to it wasn't going to help.

She left Weiss's side for a moment to retrieve a couple stools, setting one down for her partner and patting the seat as a signal for her to take it. Weiss followed her leader's order, settling down on it before Ruby took her own.

"Tell me about him," Ruby requested.

Weiss looked at Ruby with confusion but there came a visible display of ease at the change of subject. "Who?"

"The engineer that helped you build Myrtenaster."

"Oh, him." Although it wasn't whatever it was that caused her so much unease, the lowering of Weiss's head told Ruby that this subject wasn't that much better. The quiet that followed didn't help either and the young leader was ready to let that subject go on by without resistance until Weiss spoke, "His name was Fulgun. One of the best and the one I knew the most about so when I wanted a weapon for when I would attend Beacon, I convinced him to do it for me. I presented Myrtenaster's design along with a selection of trainers and other things I would need to get into Beacon. He approved them all and after he got the resources he needed, Fulgun built and gave Myrtenaster to me."

She wasn't looking at Ruby but the scythe-wielder was nodding her head to show that she was paying attention.

"After that, my father fired him."

And so Ruby's head froze, chin dropping and mouth hanging ajar. "What?"

Weiss closed her eyes, head hanging lower. "I…told you about my family and the White Fang. My father became very controlling because of it; he didn't want the White Fang to have any chance of striking at us. A part of me knew that he wanted to protect his company and his family but it became too much. By going to Fulgun, I went behind his back. He let me have what I wanted but this was something that he couldn't allow so he fired Fulgun after I was given Myrtenaster. I wasn't there when he was given the news and I didn't tell him it was coming during the whole time he made Myrtenaster because I didn't want him to back out. The last time I saw him, I smiled and thanked him when he put Myrtenaster in my hands."

"What happened to him?" Ruby asked, afraid of the answer but she still asked.

"At first I didn't want to know," Weiss admitted. "But I forced myself to find out." She opened her eyes in order to stare directly into her partner's and just as Ruby was having that bad feeling sinking into the pit of her stomach, Weiss revealed, "He got a new job."

"Oh." Ruby let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "Um…that's…good, right?"

"I suppose." A small smile twitched upon Weiss's face, showing some amusement in Ruby's reaction. "It never has to always end tragically I guess. Last I heard, he got into a small independent company. Doesn't have the benefits or pay of a much larger one like Schnee Dust but it doesn't have the restrictions either. With someone as talented as him, he'll have more freedom to implement ideas that get lost in all the others that come to my father and his advisors at SDC. Who knows; maybe they'll be enough to get that company off the ground to do bigger and better things. It was only a couple generations ago that the Schnee Dust Company was nothing more than a dream of my grandfather's until he got his hands on what would become the Schnee Quarry."

The smile left her face and despite what she just said, a frown full of regret replaced it. "But I still feel bad when I think about it. Back then, I didn't care as much as I should've about some of the measures I took in order to get into Beacon. I saw Fulgun as someone who could get me a tool that I needed and that was all that I thought of Myrtenaster as. I thought nothing about it when Nora broke it as it was just another broken sword like any other that could be replaced by another engineer."

Weiss leaned back over the table in order to retrieve the blade and place it across her lap. One hand stroke along the length of it and Ruby stuck with sitting and watching while she did so.

"When I was making this," she spoke up again, "and began to understand what it meant for a Huntress to forge a weapon that was perfect for them, I've been having doubts. I've been wondering if Myrtenaster really is the weapon I wanted. I didn't make it, I thought nothing of it, so is this something that's right for me?"

It was then that Ruby understood, having gone through something similar to what Weiss was experiencing now. She remembered her own trials in Signal Academy when she tried to find _her_ perfect weapon. She practiced with everything: swords, daggers, hand-to-hand, long weapons like spears and lances, and a variety of pistols and rifles. Nothing worked for her. She lost nearly all her practice duels because she could never settle on a weapon or fighting style that felt right to her unlike her classmates. She would remain in the training rooms until Yang would eventually come for her, easily dragging her away from the pile of training weapons despite her tearful protests – the only thing she could do as she had exhausted herself too much to struggle.

Her room had been littered with crumpled or shredded sheets of paper with designs that started off promising but turned out terribly. She spent several nights crying herself to sleep, unable to understand why she couldn't find a weapon that was right for her and why she couldn't become a Hunter like her sister or her mom or dad or uncle.

When Qrow first handed her his scythe and guided her through several practice swings, everything came together. The long handle that not only extended her reach but allowed her to bend and twist her body around it, the heavy end with the curved scythe blade that would give her plenty of power and momentum, and the addition of a heavy-caliber rifle. It was a weapon that was perfect for her as it overcame those weaknesses that couldn't be accomplished by any of the other weapons that she practiced with.

"You didn't make Myrtenaster, but you helped design it, right?" Ruby questioned.

Weiss nodded. "I did."

Ruby began searching for something in her pocket. "Whether designing or forging, you can't do either unless you know what it is that you want. The weapons that we do end up with are weapons that not only work best for us but seem like they should've been meant for us all along like Yang or Blake or Nora or Pyrrha or Ren. Seeing how they fight and their weapons, can you ever think of them having something else?"

Weiss shook her head in negative and Ruby knew she couldn't either. Yang with her hand-to-hand style that was supplemented by her gauntlets, Blake with Gambol Shroud that was as exotic and mysterious as she was with a construction that spoke of her hard life with jury-rigged pistol and blade, Pyrrha with her spear that possessed multiple forms but what she switched and handled effortlessly like a true champion, Ren with his more modest pistols and attached blades, and Nora's energetic and near-destructive tendencies that was embodied by her hammer-grenade launcher combo.

"There's always room for change with our weapons," Ruby continued. "Whether it be a difference in length, an addition to them, or maybe we'll change them entirely. Maybe Yang will get shotgun-boots to go with her gauntlets or maybe I'll add another blade to Crescent Rose." Ruby was momentarily dazzled by the thought of a double-bladed Crescent Rose – no, double-bladed _laser_ blades – but didn't let herself get sucked completely into that fantasy. "Anyway, from when we first design our weapons to when we may one day change them, everything is done to be perfect for us. When you think about when you first thought up Myrtenaster and what you've done since using it, can you think of any other weapon that you would rather use instead?"

Ruby found what she wanted by that point. When she motioned Weiss to hold out her hand, she set it down right in her palm: the long, thin hilt of Myrtenaster that she managed to salvage. There was the oval pommel and the spiral design that went up the length of it but, instead of the trigger, there was a hollow spot that was located where it and the assembly were supposed to be.

Weiss held the hilt in one hand and grabbed the newly-forged blade with the other. She lifted them both up and down, her gaze unfocusing as she got a feel for them, remembering how she wielded the old Myrtenaster and, perhaps, thinking of how the new one will feel.

Soon, Weiss shook her head. "No. I can't think of any other."

* * *

><p>Once Weiss hammered out the final detail into the blade, she moved on to the only other major component that made up her rapier: the revolving cylinder that held her Dust.<p>

Unlike the blade, the cylinder didn't have to be made from scratch. As what Ruby said and what Weiss came to realize later, it was the blade that was the heart of any weapon. What was meant by that is, other than the blade being what would clash with other weapons and opponents when battle was met, it was also meant as a guide to make sure the other parts would fit and work perfectly with it. By having the forger leave an impression on the blade with their Aura, the reverse also happened. By getting an in-depth impression of the blade, the forger gained a special comprehension that would assist them in making the other parts.

That occurred when Weiss made the cylinder. After going back to Beacon's metal storage and getting another block, Weiss returned to the smithy to mill it into shape and drill the holes that would hold her cartridges, the extractor, and the tang of her rapier blade. Ruby assisted her in this instance. While she touched none of the tools or really did any kind of help with her hands, she advised and gave instruction to Weiss on how to use the proper machines. The actual milling and drilling were done by Weiss's hands.

And with her Aura. While she formed the cylinder, her Aura enfolded it in order for her to get a proper sense of it. With it, she knew just how deep and wide the holes needed to be, how spaced out they had to be, and what size and diameter the cylinder itself needed to be in order to fit with her blade. She inserted the tiny slips of tempered glass that acted as the viewing windows and used an etcher to draw the old designs into the metal.

Other than the hilt, Ruby salvaged the prongs from the old Myrtenaster which saved the heiress some more time. When Weiss asked her partner about using so many parts from the old Myrtenaster, Ruby waved it off.

"The blade's the most important," Ruby stressed again. "When it comes to the other parts, the important thing is how they fit and work together as, if they're damaged, they're easier to replace. You aren't forging every single piece but you still want your Aura to help get a sense of each piece into yourself. When the moment comes to assemble them all together, you want them to do so as if they were always meant to come together."

The whole process took a total of eleven days. After the cylinder there was a new Dust exhaust port, the collar that would ensure proper fitting between the blade and cylinder, and the frame that would hold the firing mechanism and the hilt. The small parts – firing pin, hammer, trigger, extractor, and any manner of screws and springs -, Weiss was able to just find the right size or file them down if needed.

With some cleaning and polishing of the various parts, there finally came the day where Weiss was sitting at the table with them all laid out before her. She placed them all in a formation that loosely resembled what they would look like once she put them together and, even at this stage, Weiss had to steady herself against this growing swell of excitement.

It wasn't something she usually felt or expected to feel, especially for a weapon. Yet, looking at all the gleaming parts and knowing what they would create with each and every piece having been done by her hand…it was oddly exhilarating and the heiress had to take a calming breath.

Eleven days. Eleven days without a Myrtenaster and in a few minutes she was about to have one that was well and truly hers.

Weiss paused when she saw her hands, taking note of the unpainted nails with the dirt gathered beneath them. A couple were broken. The only paint on her hands were oily stains and she could feel the residue of the polish she used clinging to her skin.

…She'll wash up first.

* * *

><p>Now clean fingers carefully slid one cartridge after the other into the chamber, Weiss slowly spinning the cylinder all the while. It was unnecessary but there was something about the clicking of the slow-turning mechanism that felt oddly satisfying as Weiss loaded it. She even gave it a spin before snapping it shut, the extractor and hammer already inserted.<p>

The trigger she didn't install until after she took the old hilt and slid it into the frame, her fingers brushing along the dips created by the chiseled spiral pattern. A quick tightening of the screw locked it into place so that Weiss could install the trigger assembly into that hollow spot – pins, springs, retaining clips – before fitting the long trigger right on top of it to cover it. She took a moment to examine the semi-complete Myrtenaster, her thumb pulling back the hammer and remaining there when her fingers squeezed the trigger so that she could carefully set it back into its resting place when the test proved that everything was in working order.

The metal prongs had already been welded into place along with the collar so it was a simple matter to fit the exhaust port into place. All that was left was the blade which she took care in handling. Lifting it by the tang, she slid it through the collar and into the cylinder as easily as the hilt with another turning of the locking screw in the collar provided a tight placement with the ricasso resting beneath the exhaust port.

Weiss leaned back in her seat in order to truly behold her completed Myrtenaster, heart pounding in her chest. Ruby was right; Weiss couldn't imagine herself wielding anything but this weapon right here. When she had been forced to think of one that she would be content to wield in her quest to attend Beacon, the rapier had been her first and obvious choice. Thin and graceful with the fencing art itself being of stylized elegance. And the best way to enhance Myrtenaster and her combat abilities was to turn to the very source of mankind's salvation and growth that came in enormous supply for her: Dust.

The heiress was more than happy to sit and stare at the rapier for a good five minutes to just appreciate just how much work and time she devoted into making it. Other than the subtle differences that one would only notice if they knew were there – which Weiss did, down to the extra inch of blade length to the centimeters of shaved metal -, it looked almost exactly like her old Myrtenaster.

But would it work just as well? Perhaps even better? Only one way to find out.

Just as Weiss was reaching for it though, a gust of wind suddenly blew past and she instinctively turned her head to the side, losing sight of Myrtenaster for a second, and when she sought to relocate it she found it gone.

Weiss gasped, jumping right up to her feet in an instant as panic took over. Her heart was beating against her chest for a completely different reason now as she frantically looked over the surface of the table, finding nothing. As she knelt and checked underneath the table, thinking that Myrtenaster had fallen to the floor, she caught the familiar scent.

Roses.

She whirled around to the door of the machine shop to find Ruby standing there. For a brief moment Weiss saw Myrtenaster before it disappeared beneath red cloth, Ruby having maneuvered her cloak to fall right over it.

"What are you doing?" Weiss snapped, immediately glaring at her partner.

Ruby was immune to it as she grinned cheekily. "Not here."

"What!?"

"This isn't the right place," Ruby said. "The arena should be empty now. Meet me there and I'll give you Myrtenaster."

Weiss was already stomping towards her grinning partner. "You'll give me Myrtenaster _right now_ and-"

But Ruby was already gone, leaving behind those rose petals that carried that heavy fragrance.

* * *

><p>Weiss admitted to all but sprinting towards the arena, fantasies of what she would do to her leader once she found her playing around in her mind the whole while. She was torn between strangling her with that cloak of hers or hanging her with it by the time she burst through the entrance to the arena, making a left that would take her to the arena itself rather than the stands. Entering the expansive chamber, it was to see that Ruby's predictions were true as those stands were deserted and the lack of any soul made any faint noises echo throughout the room.<p>

All except one. The red cloak that Weiss had contemplated as being used as a potential murder weapon was easy to spot in the center of the stone arena. And she could see that grin that was still on Ruby's face, not losing one ounce of power even as Weiss drew closer with killer intent.

Ruby did something she didn't expect. When she nearly reached her, Ruby flung one arm out to her side in order to perform a showy lifting of her cloak and to reveal the formerly hidden Myrtenaster. Before it had the chance to settle back down, the young leader dropped to a knee and held the rapier lengthwise in her hands as she presented it to Weiss with her head bowed.

The heiress was struck dumb for a moment, staring at the kneeling Ruby and her weapon. Eventually it dawned on her as to what her partner was doing and, against her better judgment, the hostility vanished and all she could do was shake her disbelievingly. "You dunce."

Ruby lifted her head to show that her grin was still present and she raised her hands and rapier a little higher to better present it. She seemed almost as excited as Weiss was.

Almost. The disappearance of her hostility and getting another good look at her finished handiwork brought that excitement back as she realized that she was about to conduct a test to see if all this time and effort had really paid off. Slowly, her hands came up to take rightful possession of Myrtenaster, removing it from Ruby hands. Once relieved, Ruby stood up and took a few steps back to give Weiss her space.

The weight and feel was…right. It was more than just muscle memory that was re-familiarizing itself with something that had been absent for over a week. Being her old hilt, her fingers closed over native territory but there were a few discrepancies with this touch. The weight was different but balanced and Weiss could feel the added inch when she swung her blade before holding it straight out in front of her with tip pointed ahead.

But still that feeling of rightness that blurred the line between arm and sword, made all the more difficult to separate when Weiss took her second swing. Then she reached out with her Aura.

It was the blade that responded to her first, the impression left on it reacting to her soul's energy and Weiss could make out how it was infused and reinforcing its structure. And though she didn't do the same to the other components, between the blade, the Dust, and her careful conditioning of them with her Aura, they were nonetheless linked together, creating a true extension of the heiress. Sword and sword-wielder – one single entity.

On her third swing, Weiss added a twirl, boots circling around one another, and ended with a slice through the air. There came that gratifying clicking as the cylinder spun and the Freeze Dust was selected, Weiss sensing the frozen nature of the Dust. Her thumb clicked back the hammer, the trigger being squeezed a moment later for it to snap into the cartridge to jumpstart the activation of the Dust, Weiss guiding it through her blade so that when she knelt and jammed the tip into the arena floor, it shot out in order to coat it with a solid layer of ice.

A push with one foot gave Weiss the momentum to begin sliding along the ice, Myrtenaster held out from her. The cylinder spun again and when the heiress jumped and flipped before landing back to the ground, it was with the blade of her rapier glowing red, consumed by the fiery rage of Burn Dust that Weiss held back long enough for her sharp tip to once again meet the ground. The ice that she brought into existence vanished just as quickly, melting and then evaporating in an instant to leave the floor totally dry and a debilitating mist hanging in the air.

She held Myrtenaster above her head, the cylinder spinning once more. Instead of one sample of Nature's Wrath, however, _all _of them suddenly illuminated. The chilling bite of Freeze, the roaring power of Electric, the heated fury of Burn, the stable and solid presence of Nature, and all others that mixed and came together at her sword blade, the combined energy and color creating a blinding white light that encompassed her blade and had the engravings blaze with power.

She slashed with her rapier, a visible white line leaving and cutting through the fog, forcing it to part and vanish as she dispelled it completely.

She heard the clapping before she saw Ruby having remained where she stood when Weiss started. Her partner was all but hopping now, hands rapidly slapping together with her earlier grin stretching all across her face. It was infectious but Weiss controlled herself, her lips only displaying the fraction of that same joy.

When Ruby's clapping ceased, Weiss straightened and brought Myrtenaster in front of her.

Her new and true Myrtenaster. The old one had held none of the pride – none of the _Weiss _– that made it truly worthy of her. It had been nothing but a tool made on her order but by someone else's hands. It was a remnant of the old Weiss; the one who had seen it as a tool for murder and destined to shed blood instead of preventing it. Its destruction was the final removal of the tie that bound Weiss to those immoral ethics.

This new Myrtenaster was the true beginning of the new path of living that she found here at Beacon and within Team RWBY. It was something that she could be proud to have, to wield as true as she has become, and she would do so to not destroy but protect.

Satisfied, Weiss brought Myrtenaster up and down, indulging herself with one more swing before she would bring it to its rightful place at her side.

And with a loud _clang_, it met with the shaft of Crescent Rose.

"Now that we see that it works, I think we should give it a real test," Ruby suggested, standing before her partner with their weapons locked together. "After all, _someone _owes me a duel. You didn't think I gave you all that help and wasn't expecting something in return, did you?"

Weiss chose to let Myrtenaster do the talking, her blade sliding along the length of Crescent Rose to create a metallic chime that sang within the arena. Upon her slim and straight blade tapping against the curved, crescent-shaped one, the two partners disengaged and backed away from each other.

When they were at a suitable distance, Ruby hefted Crescent Rose. "Ready?"

Again Weiss let Myrtenaster speak for her, the tip pointing at Ruby while she slid into her stance. She smirked at her leader.

Returning it with one of her own, Ruby ordered, "Go."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>_In more heartening news, it was sometime last week that my proudest work for the RWBYverse – _Soulbound – _broke its latest milestone with over five hundred favorites. Speaking of favs and follows, I'm kind of surprised that _Soulforged_ had gotten so many so quickly. I figured it was just the _Soulbound _name and once I got the second chapter up, people would get bored with all the technical stuff and just drop it. Instead, I got even more favs and follows after the uploading of the second chapter. Weird. Maybe people think I'm that good?_

**Brain: **Nah, once they read this chapter they're gonna realize they wasted their time.

_*brow twitches* That comment aside, I do hope that getting more into the technical in this third chapter didn't seem too much like a jumbled mess as I do fear that it is a good risk. I also understand that, if this chapter seemed a bit quick, that's because it kind of was. This was meant to be another short little fic that I wanted to complete for my little AU._

**Brain: **All so we can move onto bigger and better projects! ….Hey, you know what we should do?

…_..No, we're not gonna do that._

**Brain:** ….Hmmmm….

_Brain._

**Brain:** Hmmmmm.

_Don't you dare._

**Brain:** Hmmmmmm!

_I said no!_

**Brain:** HMMMMMMMM!

_Well I guess that could be kinda co- NO! This is how it starts! Because once I think one idea is good, then that idea starts looking good, and then there's that one and….oh…oh no._

**Brain:** HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

_NO! STOP IT! N-n-no! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!_

…

_Dammit._


	4. Next Step?

Weiss all but collapsed on top of the bench, bracing herself with her hands as she leaned back, taking deep breaths of fresh air.

The sparring match had left her almost completely drained. Her knees felt weak, her arms were sore from the continuous clashing of Myrtenaster and Crescent Rose, a fine sheen of sweat covered them and her face, and her Aura, she knew without needing to look at her scroll, had dropped far into the red zone by the time the match ended. Although she probably wouldn't have minded breaking her rule of constant composure by sitting at the arena floor what with it being entirely empty, the heiress had forced herself to make it to the locker room instead.

It was also empty. With the day all but over and Ruby having chosen to do the opposite of her partner, Weiss's breaths carried uncontested.

Usually she would hit the showers as soon as possible but, for once, Weiss didn't mind just basking in the aftereffects of her exertions. Every bead of sweat that slid down her chin and along her slender neck, every ache and pain in her muscles and lungs, and the dull throbbing of her left hand that had come with gripping Myrtenaster so tightly. Despite that, it was Myrtenaster that she still clutched in her hand.

She hadn't sheathed it when the match ended and found herself carrying it from the arena and to the locker room. The tip was currently raised, Weiss maintaining a grip on it, and though all it would take was to lower it and have the weapon lean against the bench to free her hand, the heiress didn't do so. In fact, the heiress's fingers brushed along the length of the hilt, the smooth, easy strokes along the metalwork easing the soreness in her digits after having clutched it so tightly.

This was far from the first time that Weiss had chosen to engage her partner and her precious scythe in a duel. However, this duel in particular had to be the most exhausting. Typically they don't last this long, Weiss or Ruby choosing to concede when they believed they had enough. This time, it didn't seem like either of them could get enough.

Sure, Weiss had been exempt from combat during the entire week and more that it took to rebuild Myrtenaster so it could be rightly assumed that she enjoyed the refreshing experience to be fighting again. And, true, she did enjoy it but…

The heiress looked over to her rapier, twisting it around in her hand so that she could see the line of Dust along the cylinder, one or two cartridges partially depleted but nowhere near enough to need switching them out.

Every time they dueled, Weiss had always picked up on some kind of connection between Ruby and Crescent Rose. As wild as her combat style was, there was nonetheless some kind of symmetry that eliminated the separation between weapon and wielder. Weiss tended to view such a notion as ridiculous even if she decided that it was the most apt way to describe it with not only Ruby but Nora, Pyrrha, Blake, and the rest of their teammates and friends. And, today, she believed that she not only understood the actual truth to it, but now she possessed her own, true connection to Myrtenaster.

In establishing that connection with her weapon, she has become more secured in this lifestyle that, like Myrtenaster, she had originally felt nearly nothing for. Her weapon, her studies, her attendance at Beacon - all of it unimportant and expendable.

Now, when she took in the silence of the locker room, she felt at ease. While she caught her breath, the young heiress basked in this comforting sensation of being in the center of such a school that had her feeling so free to explore these opportunities that she had originally been denied, all of them in the company of the many friends she's made since coming here.

_After I get back to some of my studies, _Weiss reminded herself. Throughout her time forging her new Myrtenaster, she had dedicated the bare minimum of her time to her intellectual pursuits. She had a couple tests that, while she believed she was prepared for, she could be moreso and an essay that could use an extra source material. _After a long, hot shower, mind you._

What was becoming much too often though, as soon as Weiss had come up with a plan that she was about to follow, there came an interruption. In this instance, the slamming of a locker that had her jumping and whipping around to locate the source.

The source, more often than not, being the red-cloaked dolt that fate had chosen to overturn Weiss's life so utterly and who now took a seat next to her.

The heiress was slightly amazed – and perhaps a little jealous - at how much Ruby seemed to have recovered from their duel. The younger girl was vigorously wiping at her face, clearing what sweat was left before turning to give Weiss her trademark smile. "Heya, Weiss! All better now?"

"Ruby-?"

"Good!" the scythe-wielder chirped, interrupting her. "Because four score and seven minutes ago, I had a dream! A dream that one day, the four of us would come together, as a team, and have the most fun anyone has ever had _ever_!"

"I…Ruby…" Sighing, Weiss closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, her good feeling abruptly vanishing. "What are you talking about?"

Ruby was swinging her legs excitedly, immune to her partner's exasperations. "Now that you've got a brand new Myrtenaster and I'm all cleared, I think we desperately need some team-bonding activities. It's been too long since you, me, Yang, and Blake all got together to have fun and with the rest of the new exchange students arriving soon, the tournament at the end of the year, and getting assigned our first genuine mission, now is the best and only time we're going to have any kind of fun amongst ourselves!"

Weiss was perfectly aware of all that was awaiting Team RWBY in the near future which was why the only thing that she had been planning on was catching up with her work. Conveying that to her team leader was a chore of itself though for, when Weiss was about to open her mouth to explain that to her, she was once again interrupted.

"Which is why I took the time between classes and helping you to schedule a series of wonderful events for us tomorrow!" Turning in her seat, Ruby picked up the binder next to her that Weiss only now noticed that she brought with her. A big, white, heavy binder that bulged with papers and plastic tabs to mark individual sections.

A binder that was _very_ familiar to Weiss and she glared accusingly at the cloaked girl. "Is that my binder?"

After setting it on her lap, Ruby met Weiss's glare unflinchingly, not so much as blinking as she declared, "I am not a crook."

She quickly flipped open the binder but Weiss caught the sheet that had been taped to the front and was pretty sure that above the crudely-scribbled _BEST DAY EVER __ACTiViTiES!_ and beneath the red slash marks was the original title of _Vytal Festival Activities_…along with Weiss's name.

"I don't know whether to be proud or scared of what you have in store," Weiss noted dryly.

"Only one way to find out!" Ruby shifted closer to the heiress and tilted the contents in her direction so that she could view them. "Have you heard of _Remnant: The Game_? Yang and I used to play it all the time back home and since there's four of us, I thought this would be perfect!"

Again Weiss's original plans of how she was going to spend her time resurfaced but found that their appeal was starting to give way with how Ruby stared so intently at the sheets of paper, an excited smile on her face. Her gaze flicking between Ruby and the binder, Weiss internally sighed.

"No," she admitted. With her weapon at her one side, Weiss sidled up to have her partner more firmly at the other. She gently took the binder and shifted it just enough so that it was open along both of their laps. "But I suppose I wouldn't mind learning about it." 

* * *

><p><strong>Coming Soon…<strong>

**At Some Point**

**Probably**

**Could Be The Next Day**

**Maybe Even Tonight**


End file.
